PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 


PRESENTED  BY 

Malcolm  0.   Young 

BV  32"  . 

Wyeth,  Waiter  N.  1833-1899 

Ann  H.  Judson. 


I 


v^ 


■7^ 


// 


ANN  H.  JUDSON. 


31  ^cttxoviaL 


.FEB?4  im  ^ 


,iv\v$> 


By  WAIvTER   N.  WYETH,  D.D., 

Associate  Kditor,  Journal  a>id  Messenger,  Cincinnati,  O. 


"  She  appears  on  the  page  of  missionary  history  as  an 

illuminated  initial  letter.'" 

B.  J.  LOSSING. 


CINCINNATI,  O.: 

PUBIvISHED   BY  THE  AuTHOR. 
1888. 


Vindication. 


TO  THE 

Women's  Missionary  Circles 

OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Very  Sincerely, 

The  Author, 


Electrotyped,  Printed  and  Bound  by  Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congres 

THE    ALDINE    PRINTING    WOK-KS,  in  the  yeari888,  by  W.  N.  Wyeth, 

No.  248  Walnut  Street,  in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of 

Cincinnati.  Congress,  at  Washington. 


-^TAHIS  book  is  not  an  original  conception  of  the  author's, 
-*-  It  was  first  suggested  by  a  noble  missionary  secre- 
tary-, Rev.  S.  M.  Stimson,  D.D.,  whose  heart  has  yearned, 
for  years,  for  a  more  general  diffusion  of  our  mis- 
sionary literature.  The  present  generation  know  but 
little  concerning  the  early  characters  and  the  heroic  en- 
deavors that  laid  the  foundation  of  our  present  vSystem  of 
foreign  missions.  Excellent  biographies  and  tributes  have 
been  allowed  to  go  out  of  print,  and  it  is  believed  that 
their  reproduction  will  greatly  aid  in  promoting  the  later 
literature  of  missions,  increase  the  missionary  spirit,  and 
be  a  timely  help  in  bringing  in  the  "missionary  era" 
which  is  believed  to  be  just  at  hand. 

The  work,  as  projected,  contemplates  the  rewriting  of 
matter  heretofore  presented,  changing  the  style  to  the 
more  direct  narrative,,  reducing  its  dimensions  without 
eliminating  any  facts  and  adding  whatever  has  appeared 
in  recent  times  that  is  calculated  further  to  illustrate  or 
impress  the  life  of  the  subject  upon  the  minds  of  Chris- 
tians, especially  young  Christians,  of  the  present  day. 

Not  to  debar  criticism,  but  to  promote  the  beneficent 
end  for  which  this  writing  was  intended,  the  author  asks 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 

that,  as  its  merits  ma3-  justify,  the  religious  press  and  pub- 
lic aid  in  giving  it  a  wide  circulation.  At  his  expense 
alone,  it  is  offered  at  fully  one-third  less  than  book  prices  ; 
and  he  hopes  that,  if  circumstances  favor,  a  .series  of  mis- 
sionary biographies  will  be  the  outcome — all  to  be  sold  at 
an  equally  low  rate. 

By  some  painstaking  the  memory  of  Harriet  New^ell  is 
herein  revived.  Mrs.  Newell,  called  the  "  proto-martyr  "  of 
foreign  missions,  was  Mrs.  Judson's  only  female  compan- 
ion in  her  first  voyage  to  the  East,  and  they  were  the  first 
American  women  to  step  on  India's  shore  in  a  missionary 
undertaking.  The  picture  of  Mrs.  Newell,  and  the  touch- 
ing references  made  in  the  text,  will  serve  to  keep  her 
memory  fresh,  and  thus  gratify  a  large  number  who  covet 
and  cherish  missionary  reminiscences. 

Trusting  that  the  reader  will  derive  such  pleasure  in  its 

perusal  as  the  author  has  had  in  its  preparation,  the  book 

is  offered  as  a  bit  of  incense  on  the  missionary  altar. 

W.  N.  W. 
Cincinnati,  O.,  Feb.  8,  1888, 


VACK, 

I.     Br.\dford, 7 

II.     Born,  AND  Born  Again, 12 

III.  YouNCr  Womanhood— Maturinc. 22 

IV.  YouNCx  Wifehood     LArNcniNC,     ....         .       37 
V.     Ocean  and  Orient—Driftinc;, 50 

VI.     Rangoon — Anchoring,       6; 

VII.     Hopp:s — Rising  AND  Fai^i^inc,  79 

VIII.     Changes — Gains  and  Losses, 92 

IX.     ViciSvSiTUDES — Health  and  Homing, iii 

X.    America — Shut  In, 121 

XI.    Thp:  Return — Auxiijarip:s — Ava, 131 

XII.     War— Prison  and  Irons, 142 

XIII.  War — DAUNTI.ESS  Devotion,  ........   161 

XIV.  War — Oung-pen-i^a, 176 

XV.    Treaty  of  Peace- Dire  Distress,- 192 

XVI.    Amherst — Death, 209 

XVII.     The  ONI.00K, 226 


ANN  H.  JUDSON. 


Home,  thy  jo3'S  are  passing  lovely- 
Joys  no  stranger- heart  can  tell. 

vS.  F.  Smith. 

Stream  of  my  fathers !    Sweetly  still 

The  sunset  rays  thy  valley  fill, 
Pour  slantwise  down  the  long  defile  ; 
Wave,  wood,  and  spire  beneath  them  smile. 

WhitTier.— "  T/ie  Merrimacr 

TN  the  north-east  part  of  Massachusetts,  thirty-two 
^  miles  north  from  Boston,  is  the  village  of  Brad- 
ford. Its  importance  among  the  towns  and  cities  of 
the  state,  which  may  be  classified  according  to  their 
facturing  and  commercial  interests  on  the  one  part, 
and  their  attractiveness  as  homes  for  contented  people 
on  the  other,  is  quite  small.  It  is  the  complement  of 
Haverhill,  a  city  of  some  magnitude  and  prominence, 
which  draws  away  its  vitality  but  repays  it  in  adorn- 
ment. The  Merrimac  river  flows  between,  and  from 
its  margin  the  slope  is  gentle  and  handsome,  inviting 
the  plow,  in  the  early  times,  to  turn  the  glebe  to  its 
very  edge. 

The  years  of  this  village  have  been  many.    It  dates 
back  to   the  early  days  of    the    Old  Commonwealth, 

7 


8  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

before  the  sword  of  the  Revohition  was  drawn,  and 
it  has  passed,  therefore,  through  all  the  stages  of  de- 
velopment and  decay,  and  redevelopment  incident  to 
the  history  of  towais  of  great  age.  And  though  noted 
for  nothing  of  civil  importance,  it  will  have  a  place  in 
the  revealments  of  the  Day  of  Account,  and  will  have 
a  credit  surprising  to  the  children  of  this  world.  Here 
is  located  the  typical  New  England  Academy,  and 
within  its  "shades"  the  youth  of  many  generations 
have  passed  through  a  formative  process,  some  to 
honor  the  homes  from  which  they  sprang  and  to  adorn 
their  race ;  some,  also,  to  be  laid  in  the  foundations  of 
human  weal,  temporal  and  eternal,  on  different  parts  of 
the  globe. 

The  Merrimac,  bordering  the  village  from  w^est  to 
east,  is  a  long  and  winding  stream  that  favors  two 
states  with  its  presence  and  profit,  and  finally  lays  its 
full  tribute  of  waters  upon  the  bosom  of  the  Atlantic, 
It  is  also  a  precipitous  stream,  and  wherever  it  leaps 
and  flashes  it  contributes  pre-eminently  to  the  interests 
of  man.  Enterprise  has  approached  its  inviting  banks, 
and  with  its  unceasing  flow  it  turns  more  wheels  for 
the  production  of  comforts  for  mankind  than  does  any 
other  river  in  America. 

In  the  town,  within  the  Academy  and  by  the  side 
of  this  beautiful  stream,  there  began  and  developed  a  life 
that  rose  above  its  environments,  and,  without  forecast- 
ing or  undue  ambition  for  a  distinguished  personal 
destiny,  was  wrought  into  a  drama  more  intensely  in- 
teresting, and  into  a  service  more  highly  beneficent 
than  that  of  any  other  female  in  the  age  in  which  it 
appeared.     It  was  the  life  of  a  woman — just  a  w^oman. 


A   MEMORIAL.  9 

but  one  on  whom  not  the  gods,  but  God  did  set  His 
seal  to  give  the  world  the  impress  of  sanctified  Love, 
the  Charit}^  that  seeketh  not  her  own.  Like  the  stream 
beside  which  she  was  born,  more  freakish  near  its  be- 
ginning than  in  its  deep  flowings  farther  on,  and  which 
unceasingly  contributes  its  volume  of  fresh  water  to 
the  acrid  sea,  she  had  a  career  that,  having  passed  from 
the  giddiness  of  the  girl  to  the  gravity  of  the  woman 
and  the  grace  of  the  Christian,  was  an  unintermitted 
flow  for  the  moral  purification  of  defiled  humanity. 
Still,  the  course  of  Charity  is  always  through  the  chan- 
nel of  vexing  depravities ;  it  has  many  checks,  likewise, 
and  meets  some  counter  currents  that  seem  to  have  a 
similar  mission,  and  when  it  reaches  its  object  it  finds 
that  with  its  utmost  resources  it  can  make  only  a 
limited  impression  upon  the  unfathomed  depths  before 
it.  And  yet  as  the  river,  unconscious  of  its  wealth  of 
power,  yields,  in  its  ongoing  and  through  myriad 
fingers,  boundless  supplies  for  human  wants,  so  such 
a  life,  while  directed  to  a  single  end,  yields  a  wealth  of 
example  and  sacred  stimulus  that  enriches  the  moral 
heritage  of  Earth.  In  such  a  case  there  are  many  lives 
in  one ;  the  original  passes  away  and  the  others  live 
on,  its  "works"  following  it. 

Almost  a  century  has  fled  since  the  one  was  born 
to  whom  reference  is  made ;  and  it  is  fully  time  that 
events  had  furnished  the  lessons  and  illustrations  of 
her  life.  At  birth  nothing  is  known,  or  can  be  known, 
as  to  the  future  of  the  soul  ushered  in,  and  whether  it 
takes  place  in  the  home  of  the  humble,  or  in  that  of 
the  proud,  the  event  happeneth  alike  to  each,  and  the 
honor    or    discredit    that    reverts    is    attributable    to 


lO  ANN    H.   JUbSON. 

the  developments  of  its  future.  As  the  subject  of 
this  writing  approached  her  youth-time  she  drew  to 
herself  some  attention  not  shared  by  her  associates. 
On  reaching  womanhood  she  had  attained  a  firm  Chris- 
tian character.  When  her  vocation  was  pointed  out  to 
her  the  channel  of  her  life  was  at  once  determined ;  yet 
there  remained  a  period  of  testing  ere  the  minds  of  an 
interested  nation  were  inquiringly  directed  to  her. 
But  the  time  came  when  her  birth  was  regarded  as  no 
common  occurrence,  her  life  as  no  common-place  ex- 
istence, and  even  the  home  and  the  family  of  her 
origin  as  not  unworthy  of  being  sought  and  sketched. 
Such  is  the  interest  that  a  noble  life  develops. 

Various  writers  have  been  employed,  with  deep  and 
almost  reverential  interest,  in  revealing  this  character 
to  the  world.  The  leading  one  passed  away  soon  after 
his  memorial  was  completed,  leaving  a  work  of  un- 
common excellence  and  acceptance,  which,  however, 
has  long  since  ceased  to  be  printed.  And  it  is  due  the 
present  generation  that  the  subject  be  revived;  that 
the  beginnings  of  a  movement  costing  great  sacrifice 
and  sorrow,  and  yielding  vast  gains  to  the  growing 
and  only  permanent  kingdom  on  Earth,  should  be 
brought  to  view  in  order  that  the  instruction  and  use- 
fulness of  Christians  of  to-day  may  be  promoted 
thereby.  With  the  light  of  events  put  aside,  the  char- 
acter to  be  presented  conveys  suggestiveness  and  gives 
impulse  to  even  the  best  workers  in  the  lyord's  Vine- 
yard; while  to  all  there  comes  a  satisfying  com- 
placency in  view  of  the  results  and  an  earnest  desire 
for  more  results.  And  not  without  a  smile  will  any 
one  read  the  wordb  of  a  somewhat  refined  critic  of  the 


A   MEMORIAI,.  II 

period  in  which  this  narrative  is  laid,  and  concerning 
the  heroine  herself:  "It  is  our  deliberate  conviction 
that  the  whole  enterprise  was  uncalled  for.  *  *  * 
We  repeat  our  most  serious  conviction  that  she  would 
better  have  remained  at  home." — {Christian  Exmtmier, 
Unitarian?) 

The  reader  is  invited  to  trace  the  rugged  road  over 
which  passed  this  woman,  who  is  praised  by  the  critic 
just  quoted  for  her  ''talents,  energy,  and  self-sacrificing 
spirit,"  and  of  whom  Mr.  I^ossing  so  aptly  remarks: 
"  She  appears  on  the  page  of  missionary  history  as  an 
illuminated  initial  letter."  She  will  be  seen  in  circum- 
stances and  in  trials  passed  through  by  no  one  of  her 
sex  before  her,  and  in  the  performance  of  deeds  that 
have  impressed  the  civilized  world,  and  will  continue 
to  do  so  for  generations  to  come.  Her  course  will 
be  followed  from  clime  to  clime;  from  the  dawn  to 
the  midday  of  life,  when  her  sun  went  down — from 
the  Merrimac  to  the  Irrawaddy;  from  Bradford  to 
Amherst, 


12  ANN    H.    JUDvSON. 

IL 

That  which  is  born   of  the   flesh   is   flesh,  and  that  which 
is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit. — Christ. 

'Tis  June — 'tis  gladsome,  gorgeous  June, 
The  rich,  warm  flush  of  summer  noon 

Rests  on  the  golden  hills; 
And  far  and  wide  a  Spirit  Voice 
Rings  out,  'Young  heart,  rejoice!  rejoice!' 

Mrs.  E.  C.  Judson. 

ANN  HASSELTINE,  daughter  of  John  and  Re- 
-  becca  Hasseltine,  was  born  at  Bradford,  Mass., 
December  22,  1789.  In  life's  morning  there  was  no 
appearance  of  precocity ;  in  girlhood,  no  marked  eccen- 
tricities which  may  be  made  the  basis  of  a  startling 
story;  and  yet  her  mind  was  characterized  by  great 
activity,  power  to  grasp  and  retain,  with  a  persever- 
ance in  seeking  knowledge  that  assured  for  her  a  high 
estimation  and  a  normal  and  large  intellectual  develop- 
ment. She  cannot  be  said  to  have  been  a  genius,  and 
no  example  may  be  made  of  her  in  this  respect  to  help 
or  hinder  any  young  person  who  reads  the  story  of 
her  youth.  She  seems  to  have  entertained  no  expec- 
tation of  excellence  without  labor,  no  sense  of  superi- 
ority to  her  companions,  no  anticipation  of  future 
eminence  in  any  sphere  whatever.  The  time  had  not 
come   for  woman   to   rank  with   man   in   the  public 


A    MEMORIAI,.  12 

activities,  and  while  her  teachers  may  have  prophesied 
for  her  "some  uncommon  destiny,"  neither  they  nor 
she  could  possibly  have  divined  a  calling  at  all  com- 
parable in  heroic  endeavor  with  that  upon  which  she 
entered.  Her  love  for  books  was  not  ominous  of  the 
conspicuous  service  she  rendered,  but,  w^ell  cultivated, 
it  became  a  means  to  it. 

Her  education  was  obtained  at  the  Bradford  Acade- 
my, amid  the  scenes  and  associations  of  her  childhood 
—a  circumstance  that  must  have  determined  her  free- 
dom from  certain  habits  of  thinking  and  doing  that 
are  likely  to  be  acquired  at  school  abroad,  and  also 
confirmed  the  traits  of  simplicity  and  artlessness  com- 
mon in  home  life.  By  the  same  circumstance,  filial 
obedience  and  respect  for  parental  convictions  on  vital 
questions  of  morals  and  manners  naturally  continued 
to  the  time  of  womanhood,  and  thus  became  a  fixed 
element  of  her  character. 

The  New  England  village  of  her  time  was  not  the 
village  of  to-day.  The  railway  train  had  not  then  con- 
nected localities  with  each  other  and  opened  a  highway 
to  inviting  cities,  thus  affording  the  easy  introduction 
of  new  and  changeful  elements  of  society,  with  fresh 
excitements  continually;  but,  on  the  contrary,  there 
was  a  staid  population,  maintaining  their  ways  and 
cultivating  famiHarity  among  themselves.  Neverthe- 
less, such  a  condition  of  society  was  not  a  guarantee 
■  of  good  morals.  With  less  advantages  for  practicing 
evil,  a  lower  conception  of  morals  existed  then  than 
we  find  now.  Dancing  and  drinking  were  rife,  and 
no  ban  was  put  upon  them  except  in  religious  circles, 
and  there  to  only  a  slight  extent. 


14  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 

Miss  Hasseltine  was  by  no  means  an  exception  to 
her  class.  She  was  not  a  social  anomaly.  Her  ardent 
temperament  was  joined  to  a  strong  love  for  social 
amusements,  and  in  them  she  engaged  with  the  utmost 
relish.  Her  mother,  not  at  this  time  a  Christian,  felt 
required  to  restrain  her  restless  spirit. 

One  having  a  volatile  disposition  may  do  otherwise 
than  run  in  the  way  of  evil,  and  with  alacrity  may 
pursue  the  good;  and  a  habit  of  vivacious  conduct, 
when  sanctified,  will  be  productive  of  virtuous  deeds 
to  a  surprising  extent.  When  Miss  Hasseltine  became 
a  subject  of  the  Spirit's  work,  her  nature  was  as  fully 
moved  as  previously  when  some  suggestion  of  earthly 
pleasure  was  presented.  Even  more,  for  she  was  sus- 
ceptible to  an  influence  of  a  high  character  in  a  greater 
degree  than  was  she  to  any  one  of  inferior  origin. 
Her  nature  fully  responded  to  the  Spirit,  presenting  a 
clear  mirror  for  His  image ;  a  case  of  no  ordinary  char- 
acter upon  which  His  gracious  power  might  be  dis- 
played. 

It  was  not  until  she  had  reached  the  age  of  sixteen 
that  the  Spirit's  influence  began  to  L>e  felt.  She  had 
been  instructed  by  her  mother  in  the  elements  of 
morality  from  a  very  early  age.  The  importance  of 
abstaining  from  the  sins  common  to  childhood,  such  as 
lying,  disobedience  to  parents,  and  taking  things  not 
her  own,  was  carefully  inculcated;  but  the  mother 
being  then  a  stranger  to  the  nature  of  true  religion, 
the  child  could  not  be  expected  to  receive  from  her  the 
fundamental  teaching  concerning  love  to  God  as  the 
motive  for  doing  right.  She  was  impressed,  simply, 
that  she  must  be  good  or  she  would  be  sent  to  the  bad 


A   MEMORIAL.  15 

place.  Her  mind  was  filled  with  terror,  as  a  dreadful 
hell  was  pictured  to  her  imagination,  and  hence  she 
aimed  to  avoid  the  sins  mentioned  in  order  that  she 
might  escape  it.  She  repeated  her  prayers  night  and 
morning,  and  abstained  from  play  on  the  Sabbath, 
believing  that  this  drill  in  morality  would  result  in  her 
salvation. 

On  entering  the  Academy,  at  twelve  or  thirteen 
Shears  of  age,  her  religious  habits  were  much  inter- 
rupted, and  her  purpOvSe  to  sustain  them  very  much 
weakened.  The  true  motive  not  existing  in  her  mind, 
so  soon  as  an  influence  was  felt  that  was  calculated  to 
allay  her  fears  her  punctilious  observance  of  forms  lost 
its  main  support.  Social  amusements,  called  "inno- 
cent," were  well  indorsed,  and  academy  life  tended  to 
strengthen  the  sentiment  in  favor  of  them.  She  en- 
gaged in  them  with  renewed  interest,  and  soon  found 
her  mind  so  completely  occupied  with  them  as  to 
prevent  the  dictates  of  conscience  from  being  obeyed. 
She  came  to  think  that  she  had  outgrown  the  duty  of 
saying  prayers,  inasmuch  as  she  was  now  old  enough 
to  attend  balls,  and  she  neglected  praying  and  reading 
the  Bible.  For  two  or  three  years  she  entertained  no 
anxious  thought  respecting  her  salvation.  She  w^as 
extremely  gay,  and,  the  opportunity  of  indulging  in 
amusements  being  exceptionally  good,  she  deemed  her- 
self "one  of  the  happiest  creatures  on  earth." 

At  this  period  books  of  devotion  were  in  circu- 
lation, and  comparatively  few  that  pertained  to  the 
more  active  duties  of  contention  against  the  giant  evils 
in  society,  and  of  spreading  the  truth  throughout  the 
world.     Christians  were  estimated  according   to   their 


1 6  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

habits  of  self-examination,  "meditation  upon  heavenly 
and  divine  things,"  and  conformity  to  the  requirements 
of  God's  house ;  and  their  homes,  and,  to  some  extent, 
the  homes  of  others,  were  supplied  with  the  works 
of  Bunyan,  Hannah  More,  Baxter,  and  others.  One 
Sabbath  morning  Miss  Hasseltine,  after  preparing  her- 
self for  worship,  incidentally  took  up  Hannah  More's 
"Strictures  on  Female  Education,"  and  the  first  words 
upon  which  her  eye  rested  were  from  the  Bible,  and 
were  italicized,  viz.:  "  She  that  liveth  in  pleasure  is  dead 
while  she  liveth''  She  says:  "They  struck  me  to  the 
heart.  I  stood  for  a  few  moments,  amazed  at  the 
incident,  and  half  inclined  to  think  that  some  invisible 
agency  had  directed  my  ej^e  to  those  words.  At  first 
I  thought  I  would  live  a  different  life,  and  be  more 
serious  and  sedate;  but  at  last  I  thought  that  the 
words  were  not  so  applicable  to  me  as  I  at  first 
imagined,  and  resolved  to  think  no  more  of  them." 
She  further  states:  "In  the  course  of  a  few  months 
(at  the  age  of  fifteen)  I  met  with  '  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's 
Progress.'  I  read  it  as  a  Sabbath  book,  and  was  much 
interested  in  the  story.  I  finished  the  book  on  a 
Sabbath,  and  it  left  this  impression  on  my  mind :  that 
Christian,  because  he  adhered  to  the  narrow  path,  was 
carried  through  all  his  trials,  and  at  last  admitted  into 
heaven.  I  resolved,  from  that  moment,  to  begin  a 
religious  life,  and  in  order  to  keep  my  resolutions,  I 
went  to  my  chamber  and  prayed  for  divine  assistance. 
When  I  had  done  I  felt  pleased  with  myself,  and 
thought  I  Avas  in  a  fair  way  for  heaven.  But  I  was 
perplexed  to  know  what  it  was  to  live  a  religious  life, 
and  again  had  recourse  to  my  system  of  works." 


A    MKMORIAI,.  17 

Her  exercises  of  mind  had  already  assumed  the 
type  common  to  a  person  under  the  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  without  a  known  spiritual  guide.  She 
very  naturally  decided  to  refrain  from  attending  pleas- 
ure parties,  and  to  be  "  reserved  and  serious  in  the 
presence  of  the  other  scholars."  The  next  morning, 
very  soon  after  entering  the  school,  she  received  infor- 
mation, imparted  with  a  glowing  countenance,  that  she 
was  one  of  a  number  invited  to  a  brilliant  party.  She 
stood  the  test  by  declining  to  go,  adding  that  she 
should  never  again  attend  such  a  party;  and  she 
seemed  so  much  pleased  with  the  result  of  the  testing 
that  it  became  a  snare  to  her,  for  in  the  evening  of  the 
same  day  she  attended  a  private  family  party  where 
dancing  was  introduced,  and  in  which  she  engaged 
with  unwonted  satisfaction,  "one  of  the  gayest  of  the 
gay,"  and  thought  no  more  of  the  new  life  she  had 
just  begun.  An  invitation  to  attend  another  party 
awaited  her  return,  and  she  passed  through  that  in  a 
similar  way,  and  with  equal  freedom  from  self-reproof. 

Her  conscience,  however,  once  aroused  was  not  to 
be  utterly  silenced,  nor  even  to  be  quieted  for  a  short 
while.  On  her  return  from  the  last-mentioned  party  it 
upbraided  her  severely  in  that  she  had  broken  her 
most  solemn  resolutions;  and  a  way  of  avoiding  fur- 
ther suffering  from  the  same  source  was  to  cease 
obligating  herself,  and  such  was  the  course  chosen. 
For  some  four  months  thereafter  she  gave  herself  up 
to  frivolities,  neglecting  her  studies  and  spending  the 
most  of  her  time  in  vanity  and  trifling,  and  in  prepar- 
ing her  plans  and  her  dress  therefor.  She  so  far  sur- 
passed  her   friends   in   gayety  and  mirth  that  it  was 


l8  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 

suggested  to  her  that  she  must  have  but  a  short  time 
allotted  to  her,  and  would  be  suddenly  cut  off.  Thus 
passed  the  last  winter  of  her  gay  life. 

With  the  approach  of  spring  (A.  D.  1806)  there  also 
came  spring-time  in  her  heart.  There  had  been  some 
attention  to  religion  in  the  upper  parish  of  Bradford ; 
religious  conferences  had  been  held,  and  Miss  Hassel- 
tine  now  began  to  attend  them  regularly.  She  gen- 
erally sought  some  retired  corner,  having  found  that 
the  solemn  appeals  of  the  minister  awakened  emotions 
that  she  could  not  restrain,  and  which  she  did  not  wish 
observed;  but  frequently,  after  being  deeply  affected 
through  the  evening,  she  would  return  home  in  com- 
pany with  some  of  her  frivolous  companions  and  assume 
an  air  of  levity  foreign  to  her  heart.  The  Spirit  was 
now  very  actively  working  on  her  mind  ;  had  destro3'ed 
her  love  for  amUvSements,  brought  her  into  dejection  of 
.spirit,  and  into  an  abiding  consciousness  of  her  danger. 
She  began  to  evade  her  companions  and  to  seek  places 
for  weeping ;  also  opportunities  for  religious  conversa- 
tion, making  choice,  first,  of  an  aunt  whom  she  knew 
to  be  under  similar  concern  of  mind.  It  was  during 
this  visit,  and  while  reading  to  this  relative  from  a 
religious  magazine,  that  her  feelings  gave  way  and  she 
was  induced  to  reveal  the  conviction  which  she  had 
determined  that  no  one  besides  herself  should  know. 
Her  aunt,  to  whom  she  seems  to  have  been  sent  for 
such  a  time  as  this,  followed  the  thread  of  advice  and 
entreaty  usual  in  such  cases,  exhorting  her  to  beware 
of  losing  present  impressions  and  grieving  the  Spirit, 
and  to  devote  herself  entirely  to  seeking  an  interest  in 
Christ  until  it  should  be  obtained.     This  ''word  in 


A    MEMORIAL.  19 

season"  penetrated  her  heart;  and  she  followed  the 
counsel,  avoiding  company  and  denying  herself  even 
innocent  gratifications,  and  spent  her  days  in  reading 
and  crying  for  mercy. 

The  next  stage  was  the  reaching  of  an  understand- 
ing of  the  real  condition  of  her  heart,  and  of  how  it 
appeared  in  the  sight  of  God.  As  she  began  to  obtain 
a  view  of  Divine  Holiness,  the  aversion  and  hatred  of 
her  soul  to  Him  developed  so  fully  as  to  cause  feelings 
of  great  desperation.  She  longed  for  annihilation. 
"  If,"  says  she,  "  I  could  have  destroyed  the  existence 
of  my  soul  with  as  much  ease  as  that  of  my  body, 
I  should  quickly  have  done  it."  But  the  Healer  was 
there,  and  her  broken  spirit  having  come  down  before 
Him  was  soon  relieved  of  its  distress.  She  readily 
saw  in  Him  the  helper  she  needed,  and  in  the  plan  of 
redemption  the  way  by  which  her  salvation  could 
be  obtained  consistently  with  the  holiness  that  had 
filled  her  with  such  awe.  Casting  herself  upon  Him 
and  leaving  all  to  Him,  she  soon  experienced  relief. 
She  did  not  yet  believe  that  she  had  obtained  a  new 
heart,  but  she  felt  happy  in  contemplating  the  Savior's 
character  and  work,  and  in  reading  concerning  the 
glorious  attributes  of  God;  and  these  exercises  very 
early  brought  her  to  think  that  she  had  met  with  a 
radical  change,  and  to  hope  in  His  pardoning  grace. 
She  went  through  a  series  of  inquiries  as  to  the  evi- 
dences of  a  saved  state,  and  found  much  reason  to 
believe  she  w^as  a  Christian.  Then  she  began  to  give 
very  diligent  attention  to  her  studies,  feeling  under 
a  new  and  solemn  oblip^ation  10  improve  her  mind  and 
advantages  to  the  glory  of  God.     She  faithfully  occu- 


20  ANN   H.   JUDSON. 

pied  all  her  vSchool  hours  in  acquiring  useful  knowl- 
edge, and  spent  her  evenings  and  part  of  the  nights 
in  spiritual  enjoyments. 

By  this  specific  recital  it  is  seen  that  the  heroine 
of  the  story  had  but  the  ordinary  attributes  of  a 
human  being,  and  that  the  features  of  her  Christian 
experience  thus  far  were  such  only  as  have  been 
observed  in  the  lives  of  persons  of  all  grades  of  cul- 
ture and  in  all  periods.  Were  her  after  life  to  be 
divined  by  the  circumstances  of  her  conversion,  the 
reader  would  predict  nothing  wonderful  in  her  history ; 
and  3^et  the  marks  of  genuineness  in  the  Spirit's  work, 
and  of  the  ingenuousness  of  her  own  mind  through 
it  all,  bated  only  by  the  attempt  to  conceal  her  feelings, 
are  so  clear  as  to  deserve  a  passing  recognition. 
Though  without  proper  human  guidance  she  *' picked 
her  way"  along  successfully;  though  often  perplexed, 
and  retarded  by  contact  with  wicked  companions,  she 
persevered.  That  intermittent  state  of  concern,  and 
that  tenacious  conviction  of  sin,  with  the  many  expe- 
dients for  relief  to  which  she  resorted,  are  highly 
characteristic  of  the  course  of  a  soul  in  trying  to  leave 
the  world  and  to  find  Christ.  Her  questionings  as 
to  her  hope  when  obtained,  her  final  acknowledgment 
of  the  Spirit's  work,  the  joyful  recognition  of  the 
beauties  and  harmonies  of  the  Christian  system,  the 
beatific  vision  of  the  Divine  Attributes  and  the  grateful 
consecration  of  herself  to  Him  who  had  redeemed  her, 
all  are  in  accord  with  what  are  known  to  be  the 
beginnings  of  a  Christian  life.  An  experience  that 
lacks  the  main  features  of  this  one  does  not  lead  to 
true   discipleship.     But   one    containing   them    all    is 


A    MKMORIAL.  21 

likely  to  result  in  a  presentation  of  body  and  soul  to 
God,  a  living  sacrifice  and  a  reasonable  service.  It 
also  becomes  a  reliable  basis  by  which  to  identify  a 
saving  faith  in  times  of  darkness  or  spiritual  distress, 
and  from  which  to  derive  assurance  that  the  subject  of 
it  will  perform  a  sustained,  if  not  an  eminent,  service 
for  the  Redeemer,  even  amid  hardship,  persecution, 
and   **unto  death." 


22  ANN    II.  JUDSON. 


III. 

Uoun0  ^ontixxxiyoob — ma  Turing, 

standing,  with  reluctant  feet, 
Where  the  brook  and  river  meet, 
Womanhood  and  childhood  fleet ! 

LONGFEIyLOW, 

Shalt  show  us  how  divine  a  thing 

A  woman  may  be  made. 

AVORDSWORTH. 

THE  sincerity  of  Miss  Hasseltine  was  fully  evinced 
from  the  time  she  experienced  the  change.  Her 
conversion  was  certified  to  her  own  mind  by  the  exer- 
cises of  soul  through  which  she  passed  and  the  state  to 
which  they  brought  her.  She  was  not  over-anxious  as 
to  the  evidence,  but  desirous  that  she  might  be  freed 
from  sin,  rise  above  her  depravity,  be  saved  from  back- 
sliding, glorify  her  Savior,  and  be  permitted  to  dwell 
with  Him  forever;  in  a  word,  "go  on  unto  perfection" 
— the  best  indication  of  being  in  the  way  of  life.  To 
this  advancement  she  devoted  herself  with  all  that 
ardor  characteristic  of  her  in  her  career  of  sin.  And 
she  seems  to  have  been  almost  wholly  without  parental 
and  pastoral  help.  But  having  found  her  way  out  of 
the  wilderness  and  into  the  path  of  life,  she  was  the 
better  qualified  to  pursue  it  independently.  Her  nat- 
ural thirst  for  knowledge  was  now  sanctified,  and  she 


A    MEMORIAL.  23 

became  very  desiroUvS  to  understand  Gospel  truth.  To 
the  daily  stud\-  of  the  Scriptures  she  added  the  perusal 
of  the  works  of  Edwards,  Doddridge,  and  others. 
"  Edwards  on  Redemption  "  charmed  her  renewed  spirit, 
and  she  copied  man}^  of  its  most  striking  passages. 
Nor  did  she  prescribe  the  enjoyment  of  truth  for  her- 
self alone ;  she  sought  to  bring  others  into  participa- 
tion of  the  sacred  pleasure  by  addressing  to  young 
friends  letters  containing  precious  thoughts  on  religion, 
and  breathing  an  earnest  desire  that  they  might  obtain 
like  precious  faith  and  hope  with  herself. 

But  though  radiant  with  joy,  her  religious  feelings 
were  subject  to  the  fluctuations  common  to  the  Chris- 
tian, and  especially  to  one  of  her  ardor  of  temperament 
and  fervor  of  affections.  If  worldly  attractions  do  not 
divert  the  soul  from  its  magnet,  there  still  is  liability  to 
be  depressed  by  conscious  shortcomings ;  and  one  that 
is  supremely  devoted  to  the  contemplation  of  religious 
subjects  is  sure  to  add  such  introspection  and  compari- 
son of  the  requirements  of  the  Gospel  with  his  own 
conformity  thereto  as  to  feel  his  defectiveness,  and,  at 
times  to  despair  of  even  approximating  the  standard. 
And  yet  such  an  one,  through  sincere  love  for  truth 
and  holiness,  will  linger  about  the  Cross  until  its  light 
again  irradiates  the  soul.  Miss  Hasseltine's  private 
journal  at  this  period  contains  many  details  of  these 
alternations  of  peace  and  anxiety.  The  summer  came 
on,  and,  not  having  as  yet  publicly  professed  Christ, 
she  was  constantly  occupied  with  her  spiritual  condi- 
tion, with  weighing  and  balancing  objects  of  desire, 
motives  and  purposes,  depending  on  such  reading  as 
she  had,  and  resulting  in  renewed  and  absolute  com- 


24  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

mittal  of  herself  to  the  Lord,  to  walk  in  His  ways. 
On  September  14,  1806,  she  united  with  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  in  Bradford,  in  her  seventeenth  year, 
and  two  months  after  her  conversion. 

A  new  era  now  dawns  upon  her.  She  has  been  a 
church  member  for  some  eight  months,  and  during 
this  period  she  chronicles  a  somewhat  different  experi- 
ence from  that  just  narrated ;  she  has  passed  from  the 
stage  of  inquiry  and  first  love  to  that  of  avowed  disci- 
pleship,  with  all  that  this  means.  She  has  laid  plans 
of  devout  living,  giving  the  Scriptures  a  very  large 
place,  and  resolving  "to  strive  against  the  first  risings 
of  discontent,  fretfulness,  and  anger;  to  be  meek,  and 
humble,  and  patient ;  constantly  to  bear  in  mind  that 
she  is  in  the  presence  of  God ;  habitually  to  look  up  to 
Him  for  deliverance  from  temptations,  and  in  all  cases 
to  do  to  others  as  she  would  have  them  do  to  her." 
To  carry  out  her  resolutions  was  a  matter  of  absorbing 
interest,  as  also  to  avail  herself  of  the  means  of 
growth  in  grace,  and  in  a  knowledge  of  the  divine 
character  and  word. 

It  will  be  inferred  that  her  character  developed 
rapidly,  in  beauty  and  symmetry.  The  intensity  of 
her  application  to  religious  culture,  and  the  admirable 
adaptedness  of  religious  truth  to  her  renewed  nature, 
accelerated  her  growth  and  increased  her  strength, 
thus  fitting  her  for  immediate  effectiveness  in  the 
vineyard  of  the  Lord.  Her  academical  education, 
made  more  available  for  good  by  the  conscientious 
assiduity  with  which  she  pursued  it  after  being  con- 
verted, was  now  sufficient  to  justify  her  in  engaging 
in  the  work  of  teaching ;  and  she  was  desirous  of  such 


A   MEMORJAI,.  25 

an  engagement  that  she  might  show  her  appreciation 
of  the  opportunities  she  had  enjoyed,  and  bring  for- 
ward her  acquirements  as  a  tribute  to  Him  who  loved 
her  and  gave  himself  for  her.  She  felt  that  "  it  would 
be  criminal  to  desire  to  be  well  educated  and  accom- 
plished, from  selfish  motives,  with  a  view  merelj^  to 
gratify  her  taste  and  relish  for  improvement,  or  her 
pride  in  being  qualified  to  shine."  The  record  she 
makes  here  evinces  the  humble  and  child-like  dispo- 
sition of  a  true  disciple,  talented  or  otherwise:  "Have 
taken  charge  of  a  few  scholars.  *  ^'  *  "^  * 
On  being  lately  requested  to  take  a  small  school,  for 
a  few  months,  I  felt  very  unqualified  to  have  the 
charge  of  little  immortal  souls ;  but  the  hope  of  doing 
them  good,  by  endeavoring  to  impress  their  young  and 
tender  minds  with  divine  truth,  and  the  obligation  I 
feel  /<?  fry  to  be  useful,  have  induced  me  to  comply.  I 
was  enabled  to  open  the  school  with  prayer.  Though 
the  cross  was  very  great,  I  felt  constrained  by  a  sense 
of  duty  to  take  it  up.  The  little  creatures  seemed 
astonished  at  such  a  beginning.  Probably  some  of 
them  had  never  heard  a  prayer  before.  O,  may  I  have 
grace  to  be  faithful  in  instructing  these  little  immor- 
tals, in  such  a  way  as  shall  be  pleasing  to  my  Heavenly 
Father." 

For  several  years  she  was  engaged,  at  intervals,  in 
teaching  schools  in  Salem,  Haverhill,  Newbury,  and, 
perhaps,  other  towns,  and  in  all  she  exhibited  the  same 
conscientious  endeavor  indicated  in  the  above  mention 
of  her  first  school.  She  felt,  always,  that  the  fear  of 
the  lyord  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom,  and  her  journal 
shows  that  she  continued  her  own  personal  disciphne 


26  *  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

in  righteousness,  with  great  fidelity,  while  imparting 
instruction  to  her  pupils. 

Here  her  journal  of  the  period  under  consideration 
appears  to  cease,  excepting  that  occasional  paragraphs 
were  penned  which  show  subsequent  vie.ws  and  feel- 
ings of  a  still  more  advanced  type.  Her  view  of  the 
adaptedness  of  the  Gospel  gradually  widened,  and  her 
solicitude  for  all  who  might  share  its  benefits  increased. 
She  became  much  interested  in  the  prosperity  of  the 
church,  and  for  the  good  of  the  African  slaves,  for  the 
heathen  and  for  the  Jews.  That  Providence  was  pre- 
paring her  mind  for  her  great  life  work  will  be  con- 
ceded, when  it  is  reflected  that  in  her  time  little  had 
been  written  or  spoken  in  behalf  of  the  heathen  or 
b}'  way  of  information  concerning  them.  She  had  no 
example  of  a  foreign  missionary  before  her,  and  no 
organization  for  the  diffiision  of  Christianity  in  other 
lands  then  existed  on  this  continent. 

Miss  Hasseltine  was  now  rapidly  maturing  in 
Christian  doctrine,  and  specially  in  missionary  senti- 
ment. There  is  no  reason  for  believing  that  the 
subject  of  missions  at  this  time  engaged  the  attention 
of  the  church  of  which  she  was  a  member,  or  of 
neighboring  churches,  to  any  considerable  extent.  She 
evidently  derived  her  views  from  the  study  of  God's 
plan  of  mercy  to  a  lost  world — the  whole  world — 
while  her  motives  of  love  to  perishing  mankind  were 
naturally  strengthened  by  the  example  of  Jesus,  and 
of  such  of  His  followers  as  had  given  themselves 
wholly  to  His  work.  But  whether  otherwise  aided  or 
unaided,  she  was  surely  approaching  the  goal  of  her 
womanhood — a  complete  consecration  of  herself  to  a 


A   MEMORIAL.  27 

nobler  service  than  her  sex  had  as  yet  rendered.  Even 
Harriet  Newell,  who  had  been  a  Christian  for  a  longer 
time,  had  not  reached  the  high  plane  of  view  to  which 
she  had  attained,  and  who,  in  fact,  derived  from  her 
the  first  impressions  of  dut}'  as  to  the  foreign  field. 

In  the  formative  period  of  her  sentiments,  how- 
ever, Miss  Hasseltine  did  not  define  for  herself  a  mis- 
sion to  India,  nor  any  other  heroic  enterprise  that 
would  naturally  be  attributed  to  immature  views,  or 
the  element  of  romance  in  the  youthful  mind.  And 
as  Providence  was  preparing  her  mind  for  any  im- 
portant call  that  might  be  made,  so  He  was  framing 
the  circumstances  in  which  to  place  her.  Missionary 
sentiment  was  rising  in  some  of  the  schools ;  notably, 
Williams  College  and  Andover  Theological  Seminary. 
That  it  was  not  dependent  on  studies  in  theology  is 
manifest  in  the  fact  that  it  first  appeared  in  the  college 
named.  Samuel  J.  Mills,  a  student,  became  greatly 
exercised  respecting  Christian  duty  to  the  heathen,  and 
one  day,  in  his  walk,  he  invited  two  or  three  other 
students  to  retire  with  him,  and,  finding  a  pleasant 
retreat  at  the  side  of  a  great  haystack,  he  opened  his 
mind  to  them,  and  was  astonished  to  learn  that  they 
had  been  similarly  exercised.  The  interview  was  so 
exciting  and  edifying  that  they  spent  the  day  there, 
and  thereafter  retired  daily  to  the  same  spot  for  con- 
versation and  prayer.  It  became  a  Bethel ;  and  now  a 
small  park,  containing  a  suitable  monument,  occupies 
the  site  of  the  haystack  at  which  the  American  For- 
eign Mission  cause  is  believed  to  have  been  prayed 
into  existence.  (It  is  just  by  the  home  of  the  late 
President,  Dr.  Mark  Hopkins.) 


28  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

These  young  men,  or  a  part  of  them,  entered  the 
Andover  Seminary,  bearing  the  missionary  glow  on 
their  hearts.  There  they  met  one  whose  impressions 
and  zeal  were  similar  to  their  own,  but  which  had 
been  obtained  independently  of  theirs,  and  in  a  some- 
what different  way.  He  had  given  himself  to  Christ 
after  entering  the  Seminary,  and  but  a  few  months 
previous  to  their  admission  had  united  with  the  Third 
Congregational  Church,  in  Plj^mouth,  Mass.,  of  which 
his  father  was  pastor.  In  the  same  j^ear  he  read  a 
missionary  sermon,  entitled,  "  Star  in  the  East," 
preached  by  Dr.  Claudius  Buchanan  on  his  return 
from  a  protracted  experience  in  India,  and  this  first 
led  him  to  reflect  on  the  duty  of  giving  himself  to  the 
cause  of  missions  in  the  Kast.  The  subject  took 
vigorous  hold  upon  his  mind — just  from  the  throes 
of  deep  conviction,  and  under  a  grateful  sense  of  the 
preciousness  of  redemption — and  so  tenacious  was  it 
that  he  could  find  peace  only  by  giving  it  cordial  and 
attentive  consideration.  His  anxious  and  constant 
thought,  beginning  in  September,  1809,  culminated  in 
Februar}^,  18 10,  and  on  the  side  of  the  perishing 
heathen.  Once  decided,  it  was  decided  forever;  for 
not  only  was  decision  of  character  a  prominent  charac- 
teristic of  his  being,  but,  likewise,  the  subject  with 
which  he  was  dealing  was  one  calculated  to  supply  the 
moral  powers  of  his  nature  with  a  satisfying  occasion 
for  their  exercise. 

No  sooner  had  Adoniram  Judson  thus  determined 
upon  being  a  missionary  to  the  Hast  than  he  under- 
took to  create  a  missionary  sentiment  that  should 
result  in  establishiug  and  sustaining  missions  there. 


A   MEMORIAL  29 

The  lyondon  Missionary  Societ}-  had  already  existed 
for  some  years,  and  had  received  from  American  Chris- 
tians considerable  sums  of  money.  Also,  the  Massa- 
chusetts Missionary  Society,  organized  to  diffuse  the 
knowledge  of  the  Gospel  in  the  remote  parts  of  our 
own  country,  had  existed  for  some  eleven  years.  But 
a  distinctively  foreign  Missionary  Society  in  the 
United  States  was  at  this  time  (18 10)  a  thing  of  the 
future.  The  General  Association  of  Massachusetts 
(Congregational)  was  to  meet  in  June,  and  Mr.  Judson 
saw  the  opportunit}^  it  presented  for  starting  the  move- 
ment he  so  w^arml}^  cherished.  He  drew  up  a  docu- 
ment of  "  statements  and  inquiries,"  ver3'^  deferential, 
yet  very  earnest,  covering  all  the  points  necessary  to 
be  considered,  and,  having  obtained  the  signatures  of 
Samuel  Nott,  Jr.,  Samuel  J.  Mills,  and  Samuel  Newell, 
he  and  these  young  men  went  before  that  learned  bod}' 
in  a  petition  that  gained  its  unqualified  respect,  and 
resulted  in  the  organization  of  the  American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  and  in  the  desig- 
nation of  Judson,  Newell,  Nott,  Hall,  and  Rice,  who 
sailed  almost  simultaneously  for  India — the  first  two 
from  Salem,  the  remaining  three  from  Philadelphia. 

A  point  of  interest,  in  this  connection,  is  the  fact 
that  the  above  meeting  of  the  General  Association  was 
held  at  Bradford,  June,  18 10.  Here  Mr.  Judson  and 
Miss  Hasseltine  first  saw  each  other,  and  here  the 
fount  was  opened  in  the  heart  of  each  which  flowed 
with  such  a  placid  and  enlarging  volume  to  the  end  of 
life.  They  were  at  the  right  point  of  progress  in  mis- 
sionary conviction  to  be  read}^  to  respond,  heart  to 
heart,   regarding    the    claims   of   a    perishing   world. 


30  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 

They  had  but  just  passed  their  majority ;  were  stili 
in  the  flush  and  vigor  of  youthtime,  natural  and  spir- 
itual. He  was  qualified  by  a  collegiate  education  that 
secured  him  the  merited  honors  of  his  class ;  she  by 
an  academic  culture  greatly  promoted  by  her  con- 
science, quickened  in  conversion.  His  endowments 
were  much  improved  and  well  tempered  by  the  trial 
of  unbelief  through  which  he  passed ;  hers  by  the  self- 
reliance  to  which  she  was  left,  in  the  crises  of  her 
repeated  awakenings,  and  struggles  to  become  a  child 
of  God.  And  in  view  of  their  similarity  of  spirit  and 
the  parallel  lines  along  which  they  subsequently 
developed,  it  would  seem  that  they  had  so  much  in 
common  as  to  justify  the  statement  that  they  were 
made  and  providentially  trained  for  each  other.  An 
acquaintance  was  soon  formed,  leading  to  a  direct  offer 
of  marriage,  with  a] view  to  a  missionary  life  in  the  East. 

"  The  story  is  told,"  says  Dr.  Edward  Judson,  "  that 
during  the  sessions  of  the  Association,  mentioned 
above,  the  ministers  gathered  for  a  dinner  beneath  Mr. 
Hasseltine's  hospitable  roof.  His  youngest  daughter, 
Ann,  was  waiting  on  the  table.  Her  attention  was 
attracted  to  the  young  student,  whose  bold  missionary 
projects  were  making  such  a  stir.  But  what  was  her 
surprise  to  observe,  as  she  moved  about  the  table,  that 
he  seemed  completely  absorbed  in  his  plate.  Little  did 
she  dream  that  she  had  already  woven  her  spell  about 
his  young  heart,  and  that  he  was  at  that  very  time 
composing  a  graceful  stanza  in  her  praise." 

The  peculiar  and  trying  position  in  which  Miss 
Hasseltine  was  now  placed  is  well  described  by  her 
biographer,  Prof.  James  D.  Knowles : 


A   MEMORIAI,.  31 

Tlie  influence  which  her  affections  ought  to  have,  in  decid- 
ing a  question  of  this  kind,  it  would  not,  in  ordinary  cases, 
have  been  difficult  to  determine.  But  in  this  case,  her  embar- 
rassment was  increased  by  the  conflict  which  might  arise 
between  affection  and  duty.  A  person  so  conscientious  as  she 
was,  would  wish  to  form  a  decision  on  the  important  question 
of  her  duty,  respecting  missionary  labors,  uninfluenced  by 
any  personal  considerations.  Hesitation  to  assume  an  office 
so  responsible  and  so  arduous,  would  spring  up  in  any  mind ; 
but  Miss  Hasseltine  was  required  to  decide  on  thi?  point,  in 
connection  with  another,  itself  of  the  utmost  importance  to 
her  individual  happiness.  It  was  impossible  to  divest  herself 
of  her  personal  feelings,  and  she  might  have  some  painful 
suspicions,  lest  her  affections  might  bias  her  decision  to  be- 
come a  missionary;  while  female  delicacy  and  honor  would 
forbid  her  to  bestow  her  hand,  merely  as  a  preliminary  and 
necessary  arrangement. 

There  was  another  circumstance  which  greatly  increased 
the  difficulty  of  a  decision.  No  female  had  ever  left  America 
as  a  missionary  to  the  heathen.  The  general  opinion  was  de- 
cidedly opposed  to  the  measure.  It  was  deemed  wild  and 
romantic  in  the  extreme,  and  altogether  inconsistent  with 
prudence  and  delicacy.  Miss  H.  had  no  example  to  guide  and 
allure  her.  She  met  with  no  encouragement  from  the  greater 
part  of  those  persons  to  whom  she  applied  for  counsel.  Some 
expressed  strong  disapprobation  of  the  project.  Others  would 
give  no  opinion.  Two  or  three  individuals,  whom  it  might 
not  be  proper  to  name,  were  steady,  affectionate  advisers  and 
encouraged  her  to  go.  With  these  exceptions,  she  was  forced 
to  decide  from  her  own  convictions  of  duty,  and  her  own 
sense  of  fitness  and  expediency. 

The  woman  missionary  of  to-day,  who  is  spared 
the  severest  of  these  embarrassments,  is  scarcely  pre- 
pared to  realize  how  greatly  Miss  Hasseltine  was  tried. 
In  being  compelled  at  last  to  form  an  independent 
conclusion,  with  nearly  all  of  her  cherished  friends  in 


32  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

Opposition  to  it,  she  would  very  naturally  release  such 
friends  from  responsibility  for  sympath}^  with  her, 
except  that  of  the  most  personal  character.  Should 
distress  come  upon  her  in  consequence  of  her  choice 
she  foresaw  that  she  could  not  appeal  to  those  who 
opposed  her  going  with  freedom  and  with  hope.  But 
the  same  decision  which  had  brought  her  on  thus  far 
served  her  purpose  now,  and  it  was  a  sign  of  the 
latent  heroism  required  for  the  opening  of  a  heathen 
nation  to  the  conquests  of  the  Gospel. 

In  a  letter  to  an  instimate  friend  she  reveals  the 
fact  that  her  engagement  was  made  in  less  than  three 
months  from  the  first  interview  with  Mr.  Judson; 
which  circumstance,  considering  the  custom  of  pro- 
tracting courtship  in  her  day,  is  an  evidence  of  his 
impetuous  earnestness  and  fervid  affections,  as  well  as 
of  her  readiness  to  join  her  fortunes  with  those  of  a 
good  man  in  some  important  service  to  a  needy  world. 
And  in  the  same  letter  it  becomes  evident  that  it  was 
not  a  desire  to  marry,  but  a  wish  to  be  favorably  situ- 
ated for  a  life's  work,  "that  was  uppermost  in  her  mind. 
**Nor,"  says  she,  "were  my  determinations  formed  in 
consequence  of  an  attachment  to  an  earthly  object; 
but  with  a  sense  of  my  obligations  to  God,  and  with  a 
full  conviction  of  its  being  a  call  in  Providence,  and 
consequently  my  duty."  How  well  placed  were  her 
affections — how  honoring  and  how  honored — the  story 
will  show. 

The  letter  addressed  by  Mr.  Judson  to  her  father 
when  asking  for  her  hand,  in  which  the  hard  realities 
before  them  were  distinctly  and  fully  summarized,  and 
the  ordinary,  pleasant  features  of  married  life  as  care- 


A   MKMORIAI..  33 

fully  withheld,  must  have  been  known  by  her,  and 
have  had  weight  in  her  final  decision.  What  could 
have  been  more  scrupulously  honest  in  him,  or  more 
severely  testful  to  the  daughter,  as  well  as  to  the 
father,  than  such  language  as  the  following : 

I  have  now  to  ask  whether  you  can  consent  to  part  with 
your  daughter,  early  next  spring,  to  see  her  no  more  in  this 
world ;  whether  you  can  consent  to  her  departure  for  a  heathen 
land,  and  her  subjection  to  the  hardships  and  sufferings  of  a 
missionary  life ;  whether  you  can  consent  to  her  exposure  to 
the  dangers  of  the  ocean;  to  the  fatal  influence  of  the  south- 
ern climate  of  India;  to  every  kind  of  want  and  distress;  to 
degradation,  insult,  persecution,  and  perhaps  a  violent  death. 

It  is  no  abatement  of  the  virtue  of  such  a  presenta- 
tion that  he  specifies  the  great  controlling  motives  of 
gratitude  to  Him  who  left  His  heavenly  home  and 
died  for  her,  of  pity  for  perishing  immortal  souls,  of 
desire  to  glorify  God,  and  of  a  crown  of  glory  at  last, 
"brightened  by  the  acclamations  of  praise  which 
should  redound  to  her  Savior  from  heathens  saved, 
through  her  means,  from  eternal  woe  and  despair." 
To  Mr.  Hasseltine,  a  paternal  care  for  this  gifted  off"- 
spring  was  a  primary  duty  and  a  delightful  privilege. 
To  give  her  up  to  the  petitioner  at  his  hearthstone 
was  consciously  to  cast  the  vase  and  flower  into  the 
midst  of  a  wretched  people  who  would  spurn  the 
flower  and  might  destroy  the  vase.  Sentiments  of 
compassion,  as  well  as  of  love  for  his  child,  must  have 
mingled  in  the  cup  given  him  to  drink,  and  must  also 
have  been  a  source  of  trial  to  her. 

Pending  the  consummation  of  this  marriage  vow, 
involving  in   its   terms  what  had  not  been  included 


34  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 

in  any  preceding  engagement  in  Bradford  society,  viz., 
a  life  in  a  pagan  land,  it  was  necessary  that  a  mission- 
ary appointment  be  secured,  and  to  obtain  it  Mr. 
Judson  applied  himself  with  characteristic  zeal.  He 
and  his  associates  had  succeeded  with  the  General 
Association  so  far  as  to  secure  the  appointment  of 
what  is  still  the  Board  of  Commissioners.  This  Board 
held  its  first  meeting  in  the  September  following,  at 
which  it  advised  the  applicants  to  pursue  their  studies 
until  further  information  from  the  foreign  field  be 
obtained  and  the  finances  justify  their  appointment. 
It  created  a  Prudential  Committee,  which  deemed  it 
advisable  to  confer  with  the  London  Missionary  So- 
ciety as  to  such  a  union  with  it  as  might  the  better 
avssure  the  funds  needed  in  this  emergency,  and  for 
such  conference  made  Mr.  Judson  its  deput}^  Mr.  J. 
accordingly  sailed  the  first  of  January ;  was  made  a 
prisoner  by  the  capture  of  the  vessel  by  a  French 
privateer,  and  hence  was  detained  in  his  mission,  and 
did  not  reach  London  until  the  6th  of  May.  He  was 
favorably  received,  and  his  object  taken  under  advise- 
ment, and  ere  the  month  closed  he  and  three  others 
were  appointed.  Soon  after  his  return  the  American 
Board  held  its  second  meeting,  at  which  it  was  con- 
cluded that  a  union  with  the  London  Society  was  not 
advisable,  and  that  the  Board  would  undertake  their 
support.  This  action,  which  took  place  September  i8, 
1811,  and  was  the  beginning  of  formal  activities  in 
this  country  against  the  powers  of  darkness  in  the 
East,  was  very  gratifying  to  the  young  men  who  had 
applied  for  the  appointment.  It  not  only  opened  to 
them  an  opportunity  for  laboring  where  they  wished  to 


A    MEMORIAL.  35 

labor — a  field  that  had  appealed  eflfectually  to  their 
hearts  and  for  which  they  had  been  for  some  time  pre- 
paring themselves — but  it  also  left  unrelaxed  the  tie 
between  them  and  their  native  land,  and  had  even 
strengthened  it  by  means  of  the  new  and  mutual  inter- 
est that  the  strange  movement  had  created. 

It  now  remained  for  preparations  to  be  made  for 
the  journey  and  for  a  life  beyond  the  sea.  The  ocean 
had  not  been  traversed  as  yet  by  American  missionaries, 
and  devising  as  well  as  providing  the  outfit  required 
much  study  and  would  naturally  be  attended  with  great 
perplexity.  With  but  little  sentiment  in  favor  of  the 
new  project,  some  time  must  elapse  ere  the  prospective 
wedding  would  draw  to  the  affianced  the  degree  of  in- 
terest that  a  hymeneal  affair  usually  creates.  The  deli- 
cacy of  Miss  Hasseltine's  position  as,  eventual^,  her 
affairs  came  to  be  a  town  topic,  deserves  mention  as  one 
occasion  of  her  early  trials.  To  be  an  object  of  inter- 
est when  pity  on  account  of  a  supposed  delusion  is  a 
prominent  sentiment,  is  embarrassing  if  not  painful. 
But  no  evidence  remains  that  she  hesitated  or  swerved 
from  her  purpose  or  withdrew  from  her  place  in  society  ; 
and  right  here  the  beginnings  of  the  courage  of  her 
mission  in  life  must  have  been  experienced. 

The  marriage  and  the  embarkment  were  nearly 
simultaneous;  the  nuptials  taking  place  February  5, 
181 2,  and  the  departure  on  the  19th  of  the  same  month. 
From  that  time  Bradford,  jointly  with  Maiden,  the 
birthplace  of  Mr.  Judson,  has  borne  the  first  honor 
among  towns,  in  American  missionary  annals.  Ann 
Hasseltine  Judson,  unconsciously  to  herself,  began  to 
reflect  a  credit  on  her  home  village  quite  different  from 


56  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

that  imparted  by  her  personal  charms,  talent,  and 
scholarship ;  to  these  were  added  the  aroma  of  her  piety 
and  of  her  distinguishing  moral  elements,  a  recognition 
of  which  would  readily  rise  above  any  opinion  of  her 
adopted  course.  Although  she  was  designated  merely 
as  the  wife  of  a  missionary,  her  toils  and  achievements 
took  such  a  rank  as  to  win  for  her  the  character  of  a 
missionary  and  a  corresponding  recognition  at  home. 


A  me;moriai,.  37 

IV. 
^X^t«t0  Wxteh00^—LA17NCH'/NG. 

Mutual  love,  the  crown  of  all  our  bliss. 

M11.TON. 

How  strong  and  beautiful  is  woman's  love, 
That,  taking  in  its  hand  its  thornless  joys, 
The  tenderest  melodies  of  tuneful  years, 
Yea!   and  its  own  life  also — lays  them  all, 
Meek  and  unblenching,  on  a  mortal's  breast, 
Reserving  naught,  save  that  unspoken  hope 
Which  hath  its  root  in  God. 

Mrs.  Iv.  H.  Sigourney. 

THE  day  following  the  wedding,  there  gathered  in 
Salem  the  pastors  and  delegates  of  three  churches 
to  perform  the  singular  and  solemn  service  of  ordain- 
ing the  five  brethren,  whose  names  have  been  men- 
tioned, to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  as  missionaries  in 
Asia.  Three  of  the  number  were  married;  yet  the 
account  of  the  occasion,  published  at  the  time,  makes 
no  reference  to  their  wives,  except  to  state  that  they 
sailed  with  them.  Recognition  of  them  had  obtained 
only  so  far  as  to  assure  some  provision  for  their  suste- 
nance. If  any  importance  attached  to  the  new  relation 
in  which  they  stood  it  certainly  was  not  sufficient  to 
warrant  the  Board  in  requiring  that  all  missionaries  be 
married.  How  feebly  was  it  realized  that  great  possi- 
bilities for  good  lay  in  the  character  of  woman,  and 


38  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

that  those  about  to  sail  were  among  the  very  noblest  of 
the  sex ! 

Ann  Hasseltine  Judson  and  Harriet  Newell,  born 
in  towns  facing  each  other,  educated  at  the  same 
academy  and  drinking  into  the  same  spirit,  graced  the 
brig  Caravan  as  it  cleared  the  port  of  Salem,  bound  for 
Calcutta.  They  and  their  husbands  were  of  one  heart 
and  one  soul;  and  the  wives  had  derived  their  own 
interest  in  missions  independently  of  theirs — from  the 
same  original  cause :  the  love  of  God  and  the  needs  of 
the  world — and,  consequently,  the  merit  of  the  sacrifice 
they  were  making  must  have  been  as  real  as  was  theirs. 
The  domestic  ties  of  women,  moreover,  are  more  delicate 
than  are  those  of  men,  and  the  sundering  of  them  is 
proportionately  more  painful.  As  the  Caravan  moved 
from  shore,  Mrs.  Judson  and  Mrs.  Newell  felt  the  rend- 
ing of  precious  bonds  which  had  grown  with  their 
growth.  How  impressively  recur  the  beautiful  lines 
of  Mrs.  Sigourney,  written  concerning  Mrs.  Judson's 
departure : 

"I  saw  her  on  the  strand.— Beside  her  smiled 
Her  native  land,  and  her  beloved  home, 
With  all  their  pageantry  of  light  and  shade. 
Streamlet  and  vale.     There  stood  her  childhood's  friends- 
Sweet  sisters  who  had  shared  her  inmost  thoughts, 
And  saint-like  parents,  whose  example  rais'd 
Those  thoughts  to  Heaven.     It  was  a  strong  array ! 
And  the  fond  heart  clung  to  its  rooted  loves, 
But  Christ  had  given  it  panoply,  which  earth 
Might  never  overthrow." 

Mrs.  Judson  was  now  at  sea  and  subject  to  the 
elements.  On  the  first  day  she  suffered  seasickness, 
and  this  common  affiiction  was  repeated  each  day  for 


A   ME^MORIAL.  39 

some  time,  creating  an  expectation  of  its  protracted 
repetition.  And  the  time  of  continuance  on  the  deep 
was  to  her  very  uncertain  Steam  navigation  was  as 
yet  untried  on  the  high  seas.  The  Robert  Fulton,-'' 
"  the  wonder  of  the  world,"  had  plied  the  Hudson  but 
three  or  four  years,  and  the  period  of  a  vessel  between 
the  continents  depended  more  than  now  on  the  state  of 
the  weather.  The  Caravan  was  detained  several  days 
in  the  port  of  Salem  for  want  of  a  favoring  breeze ;  and 
some  contention  with  equatorial  gales  was  experienced 
during  the  voyage,  yet  the  sailing  was  free  from  dis- 
aster. 

During  the  first  night  Mrs.  Judson  had  many  dis- 
tressing apprehensions  of  death,  accompanied  with  a 
dread  of  perishing  amid  the  waves.  Her  seasickness 
was  doubtless  the  cause  of  this,  as  it  was  also  of  the 
searching  self-examination  she  underwent  from  day  to 
day.  Her  mind  acquired  a  habit  of  contemplating  on 
her  obligation  to  be  devoted  to  God  and  to  the  perish- 
ing. In  this  particular  the  other  missionaries  were  in 
sympathy  with  her.  Their  thoughts  were  upon  the 
object  for  which  they  had  left  their  kindred  and  native 
land  and  encountered  the  perils  of  the  ocean.  The 
eighth  day  after  their  embarkment  was  observed  by 
the  friends  on  land  in  fasting  and  prayer  for  the 
prosperity  of  the  mission,  and  Mrs.  Judson  mentions 
it  as  not  forgotten  by  themselves.  She  spent  the  even- 
ing on  deck.  "The  weather  was  pleasant,"  she  writes; 
"the  motion  of  the  vessel  gentle,  though  rapid;   the 

■'•'  Mr.  Judson,  in  the  tour  which  he  made  shortly  after  his  graduation, 
went  to  Albany  expressly  to  see  the  Fulton,  and  took  passage  on  it,  upon 
its  second  trip  to  New  York. 


40  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

full  moon  shone  clearly  on  the  water;  and  all  things 
around  conspired  to  excite  pleasing  though  melancholy 
seUvSations.  My  native  land,  my  home,  my  friends,  and 
all  my  forsaken  enjoyments  rushed  into  my  mind ;  my 
tears  flowed  profusely,  and  I  could  not  be  comforted. 
Soon,  however,  the  consideration  of  having  left  all 
these  for  the  dear  cause  of  Christ,  and  the  hope  of 
being,  one  day,  instrumental  of  leading  some  poor, 
degraded  females  to  embrace  him  as  their  Savior, 
soothed  my  griefs,  dried  up  my  tears,  and  restored 
peace  and  tranquillity  to  my  mind."  The  weather 
continued  pleasant  so  that  they  could  spend  much 
time  on  deck,  and  Mrs.  Judson's  meditations  con- 
tinued to  be  of  the  character  of  the  above,  resulting 
in  enlarged  enduement  of  the  Holy  Spirit  for  the  work 
before  her  in  life,  and  greater  desires  for  a  heavenly 
inheritance  at  last. 

The  occupation  of  the  missionaries  while  on  ship 
had  reference  mostly  to  their  future  labors.  They  read 
and  studied  the  books  they  had  brought,  and  thus 
revived  and  increased  their  acquaintance  with  religious 
literature,  and  through  that  the  knowledge  of  the  Word 
of  God.  Their  supply  consisted  of  such  works  as  the 
lyives  of  the  Martyrs  and  of  The  Apostles,  of  Sir 
William  Jones  and  Dr.  Doddridge,  Scott's  Commen- 
taries, Paley,  Dick,  and  others,  on  Inspiration,  writers 
on  The  Prophecies,  etc.,  all  of  which  were  current 
among  the  preachers  of  the  day.  Mrs.  Judson  partici- 
pated extensively  in  this  reading,  and  tried  to  derive 
lessons  from  the  spirit  of  the  writers,  most  of  whom 
seemed  to  her  to  be  paragons  of  Christian  excellence, 
as  well  as  to  get  instruction  from  their  presentations 


A    MEMORIAL.  41 

of  truth.  The  substance  of  what  she  gathered  was 
made  material  for  meditation  and  conversation. 

But  besides  intellectual  and  spiritual  exercises,  it 
was  necessary  that  the  passengers  should  have  some 
kind  of  recreation.  Mrs.  Judson  found  that  her  health 
was  somewhat  declining  for  want  of  it.  "  For  some 
time,"  she  says,  "we  could  invent  nothing  which  could 
give  us  exercise  equal  to  what  we  had  been  accustomed 
to.  Jumping  the  rope  was  finally  invented,  and  this 
we  found  to  be  of  great  use.  I  began  and  jumped  it 
several  times  in  the  day,  and  found  my  health  grad- 
ually return,  until  I  was  perfectly  well."  Mrs.  Newell 
speaks  of  habitual,  rapid  walking  on  deck,  and  of  the 
good  preservation  of  the  Yankee  ginger-bread  pre- 
sented by  the  ladies  of  Salem. 

Public  worship  on  the  Sabbath  was  held  in  the 
cabin  usually,  and  on  the  occasion  a  sermon  would  be 
preached.  The  captain,  of  whom  Mrs.  Judson  speaks 
as  "  a  young  gentleman  of  an  amiable  disposition  and 
pleasing  manners,"  attended  the  service  with  other 
officers,  and  he  and  they  were  very  obliging,  and  pre- 
served such  decorum  on  board  as  religious  people 
necessarily  desire.  So,  while  exiled  from  her  country 
by  "  the  rolling  deep,"  and  shut  up  for  months  to  narrow 
circumstances  and  to  a  limited  number  of  engagements, 
she  still  found  alleviation  in  observing  and  receiving 
courtesies,  which  never  fail  to  bring  fresh  gratefulness 
to  the  heart.  Her  husband,  too,  "  one  of  the  kindest, 
most  faithful,  and  affedtionate  of  husbands,"  by  his 
conversation  frequently  dissipated  "gloomy  clouds  of 
spiritual  darkness"  which  hung  over  her  mind. 


42  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

Among  her  engagements  during  the  voyage  there 
was  one  of  momentous  interest,  which  probably  has  no 
parallel  in  missionary  annals.  She  was  confronted, 
very  unexpectedly,  with  doubts  concerning  baptism,  as 
she  had  understood  and  received  it.  The  subjecft  of  the 
ordinances  first  occurred  to  Mr.  Judson,  after  the 
journey  was  well  advanced,  while  he  was  translating 
the  New  Testament,  and  as  the  circumstances  before 
them  began  to  be  considered  with  added  gravity.  As 
his  plans  took  him  first  to  Serampore,  for  temporary 
residence,  he  began  to  anticipate  some  disputation  with 
the  English  Baptist  missionaries  working  there,  they 
being  already  established  on  the  field  and  in  position 
to  oppose  new  comers  of  different  faith  and  order; 
he  not  knowing  that  they  made  it  a  matter  of  principle 
never  to  introduce  the  subjedl  of  their  peculiar  belief 
to  brethren  of  other  denominations  who  might  be  their 
guests.  Having  a  scholarly  and  logical  mind  he  may 
be  supposed  to  have  entered  on  the  examination  of  the 
subject  of  baptism  with  renewed  zest ;  and  seeing  that 
he  hoped  to  have  converts  to  his  ministry,  he  wished 
to  be  prepared  in  advance  to  state  definitely  why  the 
children  of  the  converted  should  be  baptized  and 
admitted  to  the  privileges  of  the  church,  as  he  had 
been  taught.  With  his  questionings  there  gradually 
arose  some  misgiving  as  to  the  correctness  of  the  posi- 
tion he  was  holding  and  was  preparing  to  defend.  His 
moral  nature  was  awakened  also,  and  his  conscience, 
clear  and  positive  as  any  faculty  of  his  being,  demanded 
a  correal  decision,  with  an  attitude  corresponding  to  it. 
But  the  change  of  relations  attending  a  change  of  views 


tt^tA^4^.-^ 


-^P^^ 


,# 


Wife  of  the  RBV.  S.M...  NJ^'ufS^tu?  «»?".!?■  '" 

hflhel'enevolent  aUen.pt  to  preach 
Christ  to  the  Heathen. 


FKOM  ORKIINAL  PLATE. 


A    MEMORIAL.  43 

was  too  serious  a  matter  to  be  contemplated  without 
sadness. 

The  study  continued,  and  Mrs.  Judson,  first  a  wit- 
ness to  it,  presently  came  to  apprehend  serious  results 
from  it,  and  tried  to  induce  him  to  discontinue  it, 
urging  the  unhappy  consequences  that  would  follow 
a  radical  change.  Women  do  not  enjoy  nor  do  they 
stand  on  differences  of  religious  belief  so  generally  as 
do  men.  They  incline  to  ethics,  devotions,  and  chari- 
ties, and  are  willing  to  labor  in  almost  any  relation 
that  will  enable  them  to  realize  along  these  several 
lines.  Mrs.  Judson  wished  above  all  things  else  to  be 
serviceable  in  turning  degraded  heathen  women  to  the 
Savior  of  the  world,  and  she  did  not  relish  the  prospecft 
of  an  interruption  in  the  plans  before  her.  She  was 
"  afraid  "  her  husband  would  become  a  Baptist,  while 
he  admitted  that  "  he  was  afraid  the  Baptists  were 
right  and  he  wrong."  But  as  fear  was  not  a  control- 
ling motive  with  him,  so  it  ceased  to  be  with  her ;  and 
as  conscience  was  supreme  with  him,  next  to  revela- 
tion, so  it  proved  to  be  with  her. 

On  arriving  in  India  the  attention  of  Mrs.  Judson, 
with  that  of  her  husband,  was  temporarily  diverted 
from  the  subjecfl  of  baptism  to  the  concerns  of  the  mis- 
sion and  the  difficulties  in  the  government.  But  that 
subje(5l  once  allowed  to  disturb  one's  peace  of  mind 
seldom  relaxes  its  hold.  Mr.  Judson  came  back  to  it 
with  renewed  earnestness,  and  Mrs.  Judson  now  acqui- 
esced in  his  course  and  joined  him  in  the  pursuit  of 
the  truth.  They  left  Serampore  and  resided  a  week  or 
two  in  Calcutta,  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  other  breth- 
ren, and  having  nothing  in  particular  to  occupy  their 


44  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 

attention  they  gave  it  exclusively  to  this  matter.  They 
had  brought  a  good  supply  of  Pedobaptist  writings 
pertaining  to  it,  and  in  the  chamber  they  now  occu- 
pied they  found  many  more  works  on  both  sides,  which 
they  investigated  in  the  light  of  the  Scriptures  and 
with  unquestioned  sincerity,  resulting  in  overwhelming 
conviction  in  favor  of  the  Baptist  view. 

Mrs.  Judson,  not  an  indifferent  spe(5lator  at  the 
commencement  of  this  ordeal,  and  presently  herself 
becoming  subjedl  to  it,  bore  the  trial  with  womanly  dig- 
nity. She  could  not  boast,  yet  she  had  nothing  of  which 
to  be  ashamed.  She  was  abased  before  her  friends  and 
those  who  had  sent  her  husband  out ;  but  she  could  not 
feel  humiliated,  because  she  felt  that  vshe  had  been  ele- 
vated to  a  higher  plane  of  vision .  However,  there  were 
two  sources  of  peculiar  pain.  One,  the  denominational 
breach  thus  made  between  herself  and  those  who  came 
out  with  her.  "We  anticipate,"  she  said,  "the  loss  of 
reputation  and  of  the  affe(5lion  and  esteem  of  many 
of  our  American  friends.  But  the  most  trying  circum- 
stance attending  this  change,  and  that  which  has 
caused  most  pain,  is  the  separation  which  must  take 
place  between  us  and  our  dear  missionary  associates." 
The  need  of  their  society  and  sympathy  could  not  be 
ignored.  In  a  strange  land,  a  pagan  land,  a  land  full 
of  the  habitations  of  cruelty,  what  could  two  missionary 
families  do  with  an  ecclesiastical  gulf  between  them ! 
How  could  woman,  dependent  as  she  is  on  the  fellow- 
ship of  woman,  endure  the  prospedl  of  disfellowship  in 
a  heathen  land,  and  in  respedl  to  the  most  vital  of  inter- 
ests !  It  was  not  enough  to  refle(5l  that  though  one 
should  forsake  another  would  take  her  up.     To  her, 


A   M:eMORlAI,.  45 

an  old  schoolmate,  a  companion  de  voyage,  one  whom 
she  had  influenced  to  come  on  this  costly  errand,  was 
not  lightly  to  be  exchanged  for  other  female  acquaint- 
ances of  a  different  nationality  and  not  yet  assured  to 
her.  And  the  painful  surprise  awaiting  the  coming 
missionaries,  as  they  should  find  that  their  leader  had 
gone  from  them  ere  the  work  was  begun,  must  have 
been  to  her  an  oppressive  thought. 

A  second  source  of  trial  was  the  probability  of 
being  cut  off  from  further  support  by  the  Board  of 
Commissioners,  and  the  reflection  that  there  was  not 
another  similar  organization  in  America  to  which  they 
might  appeal  The  solicitude  natural  to  dependent 
wives  seized  upon  Mrs.  Judson's  mind,  as  she  foresaw 
that  they  must  "go  alone  to  some  heathen  land." 
"The^e  things,"  she  wrote  to  her  parents,  "were  very 
trying  to  us,  and  caused  our  hearts  to  bleed  for 
anguish.  We  felt  we  had  no  home  in  this  world,  and 
no  friend  but  each  other."  And  how  soon,  she  might 
have  added,  was  the  foresight  of  Mr.  Judson  coming 
to  be  verified,  as  exhibited  in  the  full  and  tender  letter 
addressed  to  her  father  asking  for  her  hand ! 

Another  circumstance,  increasing  the  painfulness 
of  the  situation,  was  the  fact  that  the  Baptists  in  Amer- 
ica were  as  yet  a  comparatively  "  feeble  folk."  The 
Congregationalists  were  the  "  Standing  Order,"  and 
other  denominations  survived  by  their  sufferance,  or 
by  their  own  capacity  for  fighting  their  way.  The 
Baptists  were  the  loyal  subjects  of  a  good  conscience, 
and  so  "  peculiar"  were  they  regarded  to  be  as  a  peo- 
ple that  the  hand  of  every  other  denomination  was 
against  them.     Thus  they  were  an  object  of  contempt. 


46  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

concealed  or  expressed,  and  Mrs.  Judson's  apprehension 
that  the  union  with  them  "would  wound  and  grieve 
her  dear  Christian  friends  in  America"  was  well 
founded.  To  couch  in  a  hut  in  India  and  there  imag- 
ine the  effe(5t  of  news  of  a  change  of  belief  and  formal 
separation  from  the  church  loving  and  providing  for 
her,  was  unpleasant  in  the  extreme. 

Then  what  would  the  Baptists  say  to  an  appeal  to 
them  for  support,  seeing  that  Mr.  Judson  had  not  yet 
had  time  to  establish  himself  in  the  public  mind  as  a 
missionary?  And  having  made  one  change  already, 
what  further  might  not  be  anticipated  from  him  ?  The 
woman  would  hardly  be  woman-like  who  should  not 
be  filled,  in  such  circumstances,  with  continuous, 
distressful  anxiety  as  to  her  future.  Heathendom  lay 
before  them — where  to  choose  and  Providence  their 
guide. 

The  baptism  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson  was  not  has- 
tened. It  took  place  September  6,  1812,  in  the  Bap- 
tist Chapel  in  Calcutta.  Meantime  notification  of  their 
change  had  been  sent  to  the  Board,  to  leading  Baptists, 
and  to  friends  in  America.  Rev.  Luther  Rice,  who 
came  by  the  Harmony,  arriving  later,  underwent  a 
similar  change,  and  was  also  baptized.  Dr.  Carey  is 
reported  as  having  said  that  he  was  "thought  to  be 
the  most  obstinate  friend  of  Pedobaptism  of  any  of 
the  missionaries." 

The  long  voyage  of  nearly  four  months  was  to 
Mrs.  Judson  fraught  with  strange  experiences.  To  be 
out  of  sight  of  land  for  that  period,  and  to  be  subje(5l 
to  the  monotony  of  a  rocking  vessel,  and  of  seasick- 
ness, and  of  the  rounds  of  passengers  and  crew  within 


A   MEMORIAL.  47 

their  limited  area,  was  not  a  situation  to  be  enjoyed 
for  its  own  sake.  The  heat  felt  in  crossing  the  equator 
the  first  time  was  quite  oppressive.  When  rounding 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  the  -ship  encountered  rough, 
rainy  weather  for  twenty  days,  during  which  time 
Mrs.  Judson  realized  as  never  before  the  dangers  of 
the  deep  and  her  entire  dependence  on  God  for  pres- 
ervation. Entire  nights  were  passed  in  sleeplessness, 
on  account  of  the  rocking  of  the  vessel  and  the  roar- 
ing of  the  winds.  When  within  a  few  days  sailing  of 
Calcutta,  she  rejoiced  at  the  thought  of  again  seeing 
land,  even  the  land  of  strangers  and  heathenish  dark- 
ness. 

On  June  i6th  she  began  a  letter  to  her  sister : 

Day  before  yesterday  we  came  in  sight  of  land  after  being 
out  only  one  hundred  and  twelve  days.  We  could  distinguish 
nothing  on  shore  except  the  towering  mountains  of  Golconda. 
Yesterday  morning  we  were  nearer  land,  and  could  easily 
discover  the  trees  on  the  shore.  Some  appeared  to  be  placed 
regularly  in  rows,  others  were  irregular  and  scattered.  The 
scene  was  truly  delightful,  and  reminded  me  of  the  descrip- 
tions I  have  read  of  the  fertile  shores  of  India — the  groves  of 
orange  and  palm  trees.  I  likewise  thought  it  probable  that 
these  shores  were  inhabited  by  a  race  of  beings,  by  nature 
like  ourselves,  but  who,  not  like  us,  are  ignorant  of  the  God 
who  made  them  and  the  Savior  who  died  for  them.  ■•-     ••• 

We  are  now  at  anchor  in  the  Bay  of  Bengal.     *  ■■• 

The  scene  is  truly  delightful.  We  are  sailing  up  the  river 
Hoogly,  a  branch  of  the  Ganges,  and  so  near  the  land  that  we 
can  distinctly  discover  objects.  On  one  side  of  us  are  the 
Sunderbunds  (islands  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ganges).  The 
smell  which  proceeds  from  them  is  fragrant  beyond  descrip- 
tion. We  have  passed  some  mango  trees  and  some  large  brick 
houses. 

Next  day; 


48  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

I  have  never,  my  dear  sister,  witnessed  or  read  anything  so 
delightful  as  the  present  scene.  On  each  side  of  the  Hoogly, 
where  we  are  now  passing,  are  the  Hindoo  cottages,  as  thick 
together  as  the  houses  in  our  seaports.  They  are  very  small, 
and  in  the  form  of  haystacks,  without  either  chimneys  or 
windows.  They  are  situated  in  the  midst  of  trees,  which 
hang  over  them,  and  appear  truly  romantic;  the  grass  and 
fields  of  rice  are  perfectly  green,  and  herds  of  cattle  are 
everywhere  feeding  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  the  natives 
are  scattered  about,  differently  employed;  some  are  fishing, 
some  driving  the  team,  and  many  are  sitting  indolently  on  the 
bank  of  the  river.  The  pagodas  we  have  passed  are  much 
larger  and  handsomer  than  the  houses. 

This  extract  indicates  with  what  emotions  Mrs.  Jud- 
son  was  introduced  to  the  country  where  she  was  to 
tell  a  story  the  natives  had  never  heard — to  present  the 
name  of  a  God  they  could  not  see,  and  who  alone  had 
the  power  of  life  and  death  in  His  hands.  Nothing 
diverted  her  mind  from  her  mission ;  every  scene  called 
forth  some  thought  or  expression  relating  to  Christ 
and  their  need  of  Him.  The  Newells,  of  course,  were 
in  company ;  and  the  devout  Harriet  full)^  sympathized 
with  her  in  every  pious  emotion. 

They  were  now  in  harbor  at  Calcutta,  and  Mr.  Jud- 
son  and  Mr.  Newell  were  making  efforts  to  obtain  per- 
mission from  the  Police  office  to  live  in  the  country. 
The  East  India  Company,  of  England,  was  violently 
opposed  to  missions ;  the  professed  reason  being  a  con- 
scientious regard  to  the  religious  rights  guaranteed  to 
the  idolatrous  nations  under  British  sway,  which,  it  was 
argued,  would  be  infringed  by  attempts  to  undermine 
their  ancient  faith.  The  real  reason,  however,  it  is 
believed,  was  the  fadl  that  the  Company  derived  a  large 
revenue  from  a  tax  on  idolatry — an  admission  tax,  for 


A    MKMORIAI..  49 

example,  on  the  pilgrims  who  came  to  the  annual 
festival  of  Juggernaut — and  from  sales  of  merchandise 
necessary  to  keep  up  idols  and  idol  worship.  Its 
charter  was  changed,  however,  so  as  to  secure  religious 
toleration.  It  had  reluctantly  given  liberty  to  its  own 
countrymen  to  settle  here  as  chaplains,  and  had  prohib- 
ited them  preaching  to  the  natives  Finally,  Captain 
Heard,  of  the  Caravan,  who  had  been  so  kind  and 
courteous  throughout  the  voyage,  came  aboard  and 
invited  them  to  go  to  the  house  he  had  procured  for 
himself  But  Mr.  Judson  returned  with  an  invitation 
from  Dr.  Carey,  which  was  accepted,  and  Mrs.  Judson, 
with  Mrs.  Newell,  was  borne  to  his  house  in  a  palan- 
quin, by  the  natives,  at  a  rapid  rate  and  through  crowd- 
ed streets.  No  English  lady  was  there  seen  walking 
through  the  streets ;  the  natives  being  very  numerous 
and  annojdng. 

What  were  her  feelings  now,  as  she  was  permitted 
to  go  ashore ! — on  such  a  strange  soil,  and  on  such  an 
errand!  While  the  friends  in  the  home  village  were 
sleeping,  not  even  dreaming  of  their  loved  ones  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  globe,  they  were  just  touch- 
ing the  edge  of  a  kingdom  of  darkness  which  they 
were  to  endeavor  to  enlighten,  from  which  they 
could  not  shrink,  and  where  they  expected  to  lie 
down  at  the  last  and  be  known  afterward  only  in 
grateful  memories. 


50  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

V. 

^c^an  antf  ®vUnt — drifting. 

Strongly  it  bears  us  along  in  swelling  and  limitless  billows. 
Nothing  before  and  nothing  behind  but  the  sky  and  the  ocean. 

SCHII,I,ER. 

I  know  not  where  His  islands  lift 
Their  fronded  palms  in  air; 
I  only  know  I  cannot  drift 
Beyond  His  love  and  care. 

WhitTiER. 

^  yTRS.  Judson  at  once  became  greatly  interested  in 
^^  things  about  her — the  curious  construction  of 
the  house  she  was  in,  the  English  church  in  which 
punkahs  were  used,  a  native  wedding  procession,  etc., 
filling  up  a  good  part  of  the  one  day  of  her  sojourn  in 
Calcutta.  The  little  party  of  four  then  went  on  to 
Serampore,  whither  they  had  been  invited  by  the 
missionaries  residing  there,  that  they  might  have  a 
temporary  home  until  the  missionaries  from  Philadel- 
phia should  arrive.  They  had  a  cordial  welcome  by 
Messrs.  Carey,  Marshman,  and  Ward,  and  their  wives. 
Here,  too,  Mrs.  Judson  gives  much  time  to  observation 
on  the  mission  premises  and  the  idolatries  about  her, 
careful  to  remember  the  dear  friends  in  America  with 
a  delineation  of  the  same.  She  was  interested  by 
everything  she  observed,  but  was  greatly  affected  with 
pity  for  the  poor  deluded  beings  who  not  only  wor 


A   MEMORIAL.  51 

shiped  gods  that  could  not  see,  nor  hear,  nor  speak, 
nor  do  anything  for  them,  but  who,  in  consequence, 
were  deeply  degraded,  and  knew  not  what  comfort  or 
brotherly  kindness  did  mean. 

The  mission  premises  consisted  of  five  large,  com- 
modious buildings;  one  for  printing  purposes,  three 
for  the  families  mentioned,  and  one  as  a  **  common 
house."  In  the  latter  the  two  missionary  families 
from  America  were  accommodated,  and  they  "had 
everything  to  make  them  happy."  Also,  a  collection 
was  taken  for  them  among  the  friends  of  missions  in 
Calcutta.  They  occupied  their  leisure  hours  in  walk- 
ing in  the  mission  garden,  "  a  charming  retreat  from 
the  busy  world,"  and  in  going  out  to  see  the  Jugger- 
naut and  other  "sights."  Writing  letters  to  America, 
in  which  what  they  witnessed  was  described  with  the 
minuteness,  simplicity  and  gratification  characteristic 
of  children's  tales,  was  likewise  a  loved  employ. 
The  departure  of  a  vessel  was  a  rare  occurrence,  and 
one  carefully  noted  in  advance,  and  effort  was  made  to 
have  letters  in  readiness,  that  dear  friends  might  not 
fail  to  hear  from  them  by  every  mail.  The  quietude 
and  the  daily  worship  of  the  place  were  restful  to  body 
and  soul. 

But  these  circumstances  were  not  to  be  of  long 
continuance.  The  East  India  Company  was  exceed- 
ingly jealous  of  all  promoters  of  Christianity,  and  it 
could  not  long  tolerate  this  new  Christian  force  in  the 
country.  Notwithstanding  the  inactivity  of  the  mis- 
sionaries sojourning  at  Serampore,  it  was  well  under- 
stood that  they  were  looking  for  a  good  opportunity  to 
march   against    the    powers    of    darkness,    which   the 


52  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

Company  was  protecting,  and  were  awaiting  and 
momentarily  expecting  the  arrival  of  the  Harmony, 
bringing  reinforcements  in  the  persons  of  brethren 
Rice,  Nott,  and  Hall.  But  ere  that  vessel  came,  orders 
were  given  them  to  leave  Serampore  and  proceed  to 
Calcutta,  and  there  take  passage  for  America.  They 
begged  for  permission  to  settle  and  labor  in  some 
other  part  of  India  and  were  refused.  Then  they 
asked  that  they  might  go  to  the  Isle  of  France,  until 
recently  in  the  French  dominion.  .  This  request  was 
granted;  yet  the  outgoing  vessel  could  accommodate 
but  two,  and  it  was  agreed  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Newell 
should  embrace  the  opportunity,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson 
remaining  behind.  This  arrangement  necessitated  a 
separation  of  those  who  could  scarcely  spare  each 
other.  On  August  4th  Mrs.  Newell  went  aboard  the 
ship  Gillespie  for  her  last  voyage,  and  Mrs.  Judson 
saw  her  no  more.  The  hope  of  joining  her  on  the 
Isle  of  France  seemed  to  her  to  be  well  founded ;  but 
how  delusive  the  hopes  of  earth !       -.^ 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson  remained  in  Calcutta  four 
months  longer,  waiting  for  passage.  "  They  were  enter- 
tained with  the  most  liberal  hospitality  at  the  house  of 
Mr.  Rolt,  an  English  gentleman;  and  the  treatment 
they  received  from  other  Christian  friends  was  kind 
and  soothing  to  their  feelings,  amid  their  difficulties." 
And  in  this  time  (on  September  6th)  their  baptism 
took  place,  and  also  the  arrival  of  the  Harmony  from 
Philadelphia  (August  8th).  The  presence  of  the  breth- 
ren, long  anticipated  and  gladly  welcomed,  gave  them 
new  cheer,  but  did  not  essentially  change  their  cir- 
cumstances nor  relieve  their  solicitude  as  to  the  future. 


A    MKMORIAL.  53 

A  month  passes  by  and  they  assume  a  new  church 
relationship,  sundering  ties  with  those  at  whose  side 
they  stood  during  the  ordination  services  at  Salem, 
and  of  whom  they  alniost  seemed  to  form  a  part. 
Anticipating  her  baptism,  Mrs.  Judson  says  in  her  jour- 
nal:  "  In  consequence  of  our  performance  of  this  duty, 
we  must  make  some  very  painful  sacrifices.  We  must 
be  separated  from  our  dear  missionary  associates,  and 
labor  alone  in  some  isolated  spot.  We  must  expecfl  to 
be  treated  with  contempt,  and  be  cast  off  by  many  of 
our  American  friends — forfeit  the  chara(5ler  we  have  in 
our  native  land,  and  probably  have  to  labor  for  our 
own  support,  wherever  we  are  stationed."  And  to  a 
friend  in  America:  "Can  you,  my  dear  Nancy,  still 
love  me,  still  desire  to  hear  from  me,  when  I  tell  you  I 
have  become  a  Baptist?"  From  a  later  view  point 
this  solicitude  appears  like  the  imagining  of  a  diseased 
mind,  but  separate  Mrs.  Judson  from  her  subsequent 
history  and  it  appears  both  natural  and  well  grounded. 

To  offset  this  mental  trouble  she  was  admitted  to 
new  fellowships  and  privileges  of  a  delightful  char- 
acter, before  leaving  Calcutta.  She  became  eligible  to 
the  Lord's  Supper,  among  the  English  Baptists,  and 
one  celebration  she  describes  as  follows:  "Nov.  i — I 
never  saw  a  more  striking  display  of  the  love  of  God, 
than  was  manifested  in  those  who  came  around  the 
communion  table,  and  who  have  been  emphatically 
called  from  the  highways  and  hedges.  Hindoos  and 
Portuguese,  Armenians  and  Mussulmans,  could  join 
Europeans  and  Americans  in  commemorating  the 
dying  love  of  Jesus."  Then  she  adds,  same  date: 
"  Brother  Rice  was  this  day  baptized.     He  has  been 


54  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

examining  the  subje(5l  for  some  time,  and  finally 
became  convinced  that  it  was  his  duty  to  be  baptized 
in  Christ's  appointed  way.  I  consider  it  a  singular 
favor,  that  God  has  given  us  one  of  our  brethren  to  be 
our  companion  in  travels,  our  associate  and  fellow- 
laborer  in  missionary  work."  And  with  this  record 
was  there  not  the  pleasant  consciousness  that  her 
husband  and  she  had  led  the  way  in  the  observance  of 
the  divine  command,  and  that  the  result  might  properly 
be  considered  a  kind  of  first  fruit. of  their  sacrifice 
for  the  heathen? 

The  detention  of  the  American  missionaries  in  Cal- 
cutta, however,  became  very  wearisome  to  themselves, 
and  finally  an  annoyance  to  the  government.  They 
spent  many  days  in  anxious  thought  as  to  what  course 
to  pursue.  Those  who  had  been  baptized  had  virtually 
released  the  Board  of  Commissioners  from  all  obligation 
to  them,  and  they  were  not  certain  that  the  Baptists 
would  take  them  up ;  this,  therefore,  was  another  cause 
of  anxiety.  They  seriously  contemplated  going  to 
South  America;  then  Persia,  Japan,  Madagascar,  and 
other  countries  were  considered  as  fields  for  missionary 
effort.  But  Burmah  held  the  ascendency  in  Mr.  Judson's 
mind,  and  though  he  gave  thought  to  many  countries 
he  invariably  reverted  to  the  one  on  which  his  heart 
was  originally  fixed,  and  the  one  which  seemed  to  be 
most  determinedly  hedged  in  by  governmental  restric- 
tions. In  all  his  anxieties  Mrs.  Judson  shared  a  wifely 
part,  as  evinced  by  the  full  explanatory  letters  she 
wrote  to  her  friends ;  and  although  he  was  the  strong 
staff  on  which  she  leaned,  yet  her  greater  sensibilities 
were  the  occasion  of  keener   suffering   through  that 


A   MEMORIAL.  55 

cause  than  he  experienced.  She  had  every  comfort  at 
Mr.  Roh's,  but  she  longed  to  get  away  to  some  field  of 
labor  among  the  heathen.  At  a  late  day  in  their  stay 
they  had  some  prospe(5l  of  going  to  Java,  and  had 
acflually  spoken  for  a  passage. 

lyate  in  November  another,  a  very  peremptory  order 
was  given  for  the  missionaries  to  embark  for  England, 
in  one  of  the  East  India  Company's  vessels.  Mr.  Jud- 
son  and  Mr.  Rice  were  requested  not  to  leave  their 
place  of  residence  without  permission,  and  their  names 
were  published  as  passengers  of  the  particular  ship  in 
which  they  were  to  sail.  But  they  soon  ascertained 
that  a  ship  named  Creole  would  shortly  sail  for  the  Isle 
of  France,  and  they  applied  to  the  government  for 
a  pass  to  enable  them  to  procure  passage  on  it.  This 
being  refused  they  communicated  with  the  captain, 
begging  him  to  take  them  without  the  passport.  He 
claimed  to  be  neutral,  but  pointed  to  the  ship  and  said 
that  they  could  do  as  they  pleased.  They  gathered  up 
their  baggage,  and  with  the  aid  of  coolies  succeeded  in 
getting  aboard  at  about  midnight,  having  effedled 
a  passage  through  the  dock-yard  gates,  contrary  to  the 
regulations  of  the  Company.  Next  morning  the  ship 
sailed  and  proceeded  down  the  Ganges  for  two  days 
without  molestation,  when  a  government  dispatch  ar- 
rived, forbidding  the  pilot  to  go  farther,  as  passengers 
were  on  board  who  had  been  ordered  to  England. 
Mrs.  Judson's  narration  of  experiences  at  this  time  is 
explicit  and  so  interesting  that  it  will  be  inserted  here 
as  originally  given  to  her  parents  by  letter,  dated  at 
sea,  December  7,  181 2: 


56  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

We  immediately  concluded  that  it  was  not  safe  to  continue 
on  board  the  remainder  of  the  night.  Mr,  Rice  and  Mr.  Jud- 
son  took  a  boat  and  went  on  shore  to  a  tavern  a  little  more 
than  a  mile  from  the  ship.  The  captain  said  that  I  and  our 
baggage  could  stay  on  board  with  perfect  safety,  even  should 
an  officer  be  sent  to  search  the  vessel. 

The  next  day  we  lay  at  anchor,  expecting  every  hour  to 
hear  some  intelligence  from  Calcutta.  In  the  evening  the 
captain  received  a  note  from  the  owner  of  the  vessel,  saying 
he  had  been  to  the  Police  to  inquire  the  cause  of  the  detention 
of  his  ship ;  and  the  cause  assigned  was,  "  It  w^as  suspected 
there  were  persons  on  board  which  the  captain  had  been 
forbidden  to  receive,"  and  that  the  ship  could  not  proceed 
until  it  was  ascertained  that  no  such  persons  were  on  board. 
The  pilot  immediately  wrote  a  certificate  that  no  such  persons 
were  on  board,  at  the  same  time  giving  a  list  of  all  the  passen- 
gers. I  got  into  a  small  boat  and  went  on  shore,  where  the 
brethren  had  been  anxiously  waiting  through  the  day.  We 
knew  not  what  course  to  take,  as  it  was  impossible  that  we 
could  proceed  in  that  ship  without  a  pass  from  the  magistrate. 
Brother  Rice  set  out  directly  for  Calcutta,  to  see  if  it  was 
possible  to  get  a  pass,  or  do  anything  else.  We  spent  the 
night  and  the  next  day  at  the  tavern,  without  hearing  any- 
thing from  the  ship,  fearing  that  every  European  we  saw  was 
in  search  of  us.  Brother  Rice  returned  from  Calcutta,  but 
had  effected  nothing.  The  owner  of  the  vessel  was  highly 
offended  at  his  ship  being  detained  on  our  account,  and  would 
do  nothing  to  assist  us.  We  felt  our  situation  was  peculiarly 
trying,  and  could  see  no  end  to  our  difficulties. 

Early  the  next  morning  we  received  a  note  from  the  cap- 
tain, saying,  he  had  liberty  to  proceed,  but  we  must  take  our 
baggage  from  the  vessel.  We  thought  it  not  safe  to  continue 
at  the  tavern  where  we  were,  neither  could  we  think  of  return- 
ing to  Calcutta.  But  one  way  was  left— to  go  down  the  river 
about  sixteen  miles,  where  there  was  another  tavern.  I  went 
on  board  to  see  about  our  baggage,  as  the  brethren  did  not 
think  it  safe  for  them  to  go.  As  we  could  get  no  boat  at  the 
place  where  we  were,  I  requested  the  captain  to  let  our  things 


A    MEJMORIAI,.  57 

remain  until  the  vessel  reached  the  other  tavern,  where  I 
would  try  to  get  a  boat.  He  consented,  and  told  me  I  had 
better  go  in  the  vessel,  as  it  would  be  unpleasant  going  so  far 
in  a  small  boat.  I  was  obliged  to  go  on  shore  again,  to  inform 
the  brethren  of  this,  and  know  what  they  would  do.  Brother 
Rice  set  out  again  for  Calcutta,  to  try  to  get  a  passage  to  Cey- 
lon, in  a  ship  which  was  anchored  near  the  place  we  were 
going  to.  Mr.  J.  took  a  small  boat,  in  which  was  a  small  part 
of  our  baggage,  to  go  down  the  river,  while  I  got  into  the 
pilot's  boat  which  he  had  sent  on  shore  with  me,  to  go  to  the 
ship.  As  I  had  been  some  time  on  shore,  and  the  wind  strong, 
the  vessel  had  gone  down  some  distance.  Imagine  how  un- 
comfortable my  situation:  in  a  little  boat,  rowed  by  six 
natives,  entirely  alone,  the  river  very  rough,  in  consequence 
of  the  wind;  without  an  umbrella  or  anything  to  screen  me 
from  the  sun,  which  was  very  hot.  The  natives  hoisted  a 
large  sail,  which  every  now  and  then  would  almost  tip  the 
boat  on  one  side.  I  manifested  some  fear  to  them,  and  to 
comfort  me,  they  would  constantly  repeat,  **  Cutcha  pho  annah 
sahib,  cutcha  pho  annah;"  the  meaning  "Never  fear,  madam, 
never  fear."  After  some  time  we  came  up  with  the  ship,  where 
I  put  our  things  in  order,  to  be  taken  out  in  an  hour  or  two. 
When  we  came  opposite  the  tavern,  the  pilot  kindly  lent  me 
his  boat  and  servant  to  go  on  shore.  I  immediately  procured 
a  large  boat  to  send  to  the  ship  for  our  baggage.  I  entered 
the  tavern,  a  stranger,  a  Jemale,  and  tmprotected.  I  called  for 
a  room,  and  sat  down  to  reflect  on  my  disconsolate  situation. 
I  had  nothing  with  me  but  a  few  rupees.  I  did  not  know  that 
the  boat  which  I  sent  after  the  vessel  would  overtake  it,  and  if 
it  did  whether  it  would  ever  return  with  our  baggage ;  neither 
did  I  know  where  Mr.  J.  was,  or  when  he  would  come,  or  with 
what  treatment  I  should  meet  at  the  tavern.  I  thought  of 
home,  and  said  to  myself,  "These  are  some  of  the  many  trials 
attendant  on  a  missionary  life,  and  which  I  have  anticipated." 
In  a  few  hours  Mr.  Judson  arrived,  and  toward  night,  our 
baggage.  We  had  now  gi\  en  up  all  hope  of  going  to  the  Isle 
of  France,  and  concluded  either  to  return  to  Calcutta,  or  to 
communicate   our   real    situation    to    the    tavern-keeper    and 


58  ANN    H,    JUDSON. 

request  him  to  assist  us.  As  we  thought  the  latter  preferable, 
Mr,  J.  told  our  landlord  our  circumstances,  and  asked  him  if 
he  would  assist  in  getting  us  a  passage  to  Ceylon.  He  said  a 
friend  of  his  was  expected  down  the  river  the  next  day,  who 
was  captain  of  a  vessel  bound  to  Madras,  and  who,  he  did  not 
doubt,  would  take  us.  This  raised  our  sinking  hopes.  .We 
waited  two  days;  and  on  the  third,  which  was  Sabbath,  the 
ship  came  in  sight,  and  anchored  directly  before  the  house. 
We  now  expected  the  time  of  our  deliverance  had  come.  The 
tavern-keeper  went  on  board  to  see  the  captain  for  us;  but  our 
hopes  were  again  dashed,  when  he  returned  and  said  the  cap- 
tain could  not  take  us.  We  determined,  however,  to  see  the 
captain  ourselves,  and  endeavor  to  pursuade  him  to  let  us  have 
a  passage  at  any  rate.  We  had  just  sat  down  to  supper,  when 
a  letter  was  handed  us.  We  hastily  opened  it,  and,  to  our 
great  surprise  and  joy,  in  it  was  a  pass  from  the  magistrate, 
for  us  to  go  on  board  the  Creole,  the  vessel  we  had  left.  Who 
procured  this  pass  for  us,  or  in  what  way,  we  are  still  ignorant; 
we  could  only  view  the  hand  of  God  and  wonder.  But  we  had 
every  reason  to  expect  the  Creole  had  got  out  to  sea,  as  it  was 
three  days  since  we  left  her.  There  was  a  possibility,  however, 
of  her  having  anchored  at  Saugur,  seventy  miles  from  where 
we  then  were.  We  had  let  our  baggage  continue  in  the  boat 
into  which  it  was  first  taken,  therefore  it  was  all  in  readiness; 
and  after  dark  we  all  three  got  into  the  same  boat  and  set  out 
against  the  tide  for  Saugur.  It  was  a  most  dreary  night  to 
me ;  but  Mr.  J.  slept  the  greater  part  of  the  night.  The  next 
day  we  had  a  favorable  wind,  and  before  night  reached  Saugur, 
where  were  many  ships  at  anchor,  and  among  the  rest  we  had 
the  happiness  to  find  the  Creole.  She  had  been  anchored 
there  two  days,  waiting  for  some  of  the  ship's  crew.  I  never 
enjoyed  a  sweeter  moment  in  my  life  than  that,  when  I  was 
sure  we  were  in  sight  of  the  Creole.  After  spending  a  fort- 
night in  such  anxiety,  it  was  a  very  great  relief  to  find  our- 
selves safe  on  board  the  vessel  in  which  we  first  embarked. 

In  these  exploits  of  Mrs,  Judson  the  elements  of  the 
heroine  were  revealed  and  developed.     She  was  not 


A   MKMORIAI,.  59 

intent  on  saving  her  goods,  desirable  and  necessar}^  as 
they  were  to  her ;  her  heart  was  supremely  fixed  on 
her  mission,  and  to  her  mind  no  plan  was  acceptable 
except  that  in  which  was, contemplated  an  endeavor  to 
go  ahead.  When  Mr.  Judson  was  away  from  her, 
devising  and  experimenting  for  success  in  some 
direction,  she  managed  for  the  same  end,  alone.  Amid 
"perils  of  waters,"  and  perils  of  degraded  boatmen, 
whom  she  did  not  know  and  could  not  address,  as  also 
in  her  lonely  situation  in  a  tavern  on  the  bank  of  an 
Indian  stream,  she  steadily  kept  her  face  to  the  foe  of 
the  Cross.  The  idea  of  finding  herself  in  the  midst 
of  the  heathen  at  last,  encouraged  her  to  hope,  in  her 
"dullest  frames,"  that  God  would  finally  make  her 
useful  in  saving  some  of  their  precious  souls.  Hence, 
when  she  came  in  sight  of  the  Creole  she  rejoiced,  and 
when  she  was  aboard  of  it  she,  with  the  brethren,  at 
once  gave  attention  to  learning  the  French  language, 
which  was  spoken  altogether  on  the  Isle  of  France. 
A  fortnight  of  anxiety  and  discomfiture,  though  not 
erasable  from  the  m.emory,  seemed  as  nothing  compared 
with  the  prospedl  of  going,  not  to  a  home  of  peace  and 
love,  but  into  the  thick  darkness  of  superstition,  carry- 
ing the  lyight  of  Life. 

The  Creole,  encountering  contrary  winds  and 
suffering  calms  as  well,  made  slow  progress.  It  con- 
tained but  four  passengers,  besides  the  missionaries 
and  the  captain's  wife,  yet  these  were  so  wicked  as  to  be 
a  source  of  trial  to  Mrs.  Judson.  After  about  seven 
weeks  at  sea  they  were  made  glad  by  arriving  safely 
in  port — Port  lyouis,  Isle  of  France  (or  Mauritius),  in 
i;he  Indian  Ocean,  a  few  hundred  miles  east  of  Mada- 


6o  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

gascar.     The  island  is  about  thirty-six  miles  long  and 
thirty-two  miles  wide. 

With  what  joy  Mrs.  Judson  stepped  again  from 
ship  to  shore,  and  with  what  bright  anticipations  of 
greeting  the  beloved  Mrs.  Newell!  Yet,  alas!  with 
what  a  severe  disappointment !  "  Oh  !  what  news !  what 
distressing  news !  Harriet  is  dead !  Harriet,  my  dear 
friend,  my  earliest  associate  in  the  mission,  is  no  more ! 
O  Death,  thou  destroyer  of  domestic  felicity,  could 
not  this  wide  world  afford  victims  sufficient  to  satisfy 
thy  cravings,  without  entering  the  family  of  a  solitary 
few,  whose  comfort  and  happiness  depended  much  on 
the  society  of  each  other !  Could  not  this  infant  mis- 
sion be  shielded  from  thy  shafts !  " 

The  vessel  bearing  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Newell  from  Cal- 
cutta, in  consequence  of  storms  sprung  a  leak  and  was* 
compelled  to  put  into  Coringa  for  repairs.  While  in 
that  port  Mrs.  Newell  suffered  severe  sickness,  but  par- 
tially recovered.  Before  completing  the  voyage  she 
became  a  mother;  earlier  than  was  anticipated.  In  a 
few  days  a  storm  of  wind  and  rain  came  on,  during 
which  the  infant  took  cold  and  died;  and  Mrs.  Newell 
contracted  illness  from  the  same  cause,  resulting  in 
consumption,  of  which  she  died  about  six  weeks  there- 
after— November  30,  18 12,  the  day  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson 
took  passage  on  the  Creole.  The  babe,  little  Harriet, 
was  committed  to  a  watery  grave.  The  mother,  dying 
about  seven  weeks  after  that  event,  and  about  four 
weeks  after  reaching  land,  was  buried  in  a  retired  spot 
in  the  burying  ground  of  Port  I^ouis,  under  the  shade 
of  an  evergreen. 


A    MEMORIAL.  6l 

Dr.  Edward  Judson,  in  the  Life  of  his  father,  makes 
the  following  touching  allusion  to  this  sad  event: 
"  The  Isle  of  France,  the  scene  of  St.  Pierre's  pathetic 
tale  of  *  Paul  and  Virginia,'  was  to  our  missionaries  also, 
who  took  refuge  here,  a  place  of  sorrow.  They  learned 
of  a  death  which  rivals  in  pathos  the  fate  of  Virginia. 
Mrs.  Harriet  Newell,  the  first  American  martyr  to 
Foreign  Missions,  had  only  just  survived  the  tempest- 
uous voyage  from  Calcutta,  and  had  been  laid  in  the 
'  heathy  ground '  of  Mauritius :  one  who  '  for  the  love  of 
Christ  and  immortal  souls,  left  the  bosom  of  her  friends 
and  found  an  early  grave  in  a  land  of  strangers.' " 

The  apostrophe  by  Mrs.  Judson  in  a  preceding 
paragraph,  sufficiently  indicates  the  anguish  which  the 
death  of  Mrs.  Newell  caused  her;  an  event  sharply 
suggestive  of  a  brief  tenure  to  life  in  her  own  case, 
and  doubtless  giving  complexion  to  her  thinking  for 
many  a  day  or  for  years.  Only  a  person  conscious  of 
a  great  mission  to  fulfill,  and  having  a  perfect  com- 
mand of  her  faculties,  could  avoid  being  unfavorably 
and  permanently  affected  by  such  circumstances  as 
those  under  which  she  entered  on  a  life  in  the  Isle 
of  France. 

But  Providence  was  not  favorable  to  this  place  as  a 
home  and  a  field  of  labor  for  the  missionaries  now 
there.  Within  one  week  from  the  day  the  Creole 
landed  Mrs.  Judson  entered  in  her  diary,  "  No  prospect 
of  remaining  long  on  this  island.  It  seems  as  if  there 
was  no  resting  place  for  me  on  earth."  Mr.  Newell 
continued  there  but  about  three  months  when  he  went 
to  Ceylon.  Mr.  Rice  very  soon  had  an  attack  of 
disease  of  the  liver,  and  his  health  was  found  to  be 


62  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

in  a  precarious  condition ;  and,  on  this  account,  with 
a  felt  necessity  for  awakening  American  Baptists  to  an 
interest  in  foreign  missions,  it  seemed  best  that  he 
should  visit  the  United  States.  He  sailed  in  March, 
1813,  a  little  over  a  year  from  the  time  he  left  this 
country  for  India. 

Thus  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson  were  left  alone,  and 
with  little  prospect  of  doing  much  good  there.  He 
appears  to  have  limited  his  labors  to  the  English  garri- 
son, to  which  he  preached  statedly  and  faithfully,  but 
with  a  consciousness  of  not  being  engaged  in  the  work 
he  came  to  the  East  to  perform.  She  remained  at 
their  quarters  while  he  was  away  preaching,  often 
lonely  and  given  to  self-examination  and  thoughts  of 
death,  and  wondering  when  they  should  find  "some 
Httle  spot  that  she  could  call  her  home."  Such  mental 
exercises,  sometimes  thought  to  be  profitable  to  the 
soul,  if  indulged  for  a  great  length  of  time  lead  to 
dejection  if  not  to  disease  of  the  mind;  and  she  was 
in  danger  of  being  weakened  thereby  instead  of  being 
nerved  for  the  stern  hour  of  strife.  Still,  her  medita- 
tions uniformly  ended  with  some  exalted  view  of  God, 
and  in  Him  she  trusted. 

What  were  their  means  of  support  at  this  time  the 
biographies  do  not  state,  though  it  is  presumable  that 
they  still  had  some  of  the  means  which  they  brought 
from  America,  or,  that  they  used  the  liberty  given 
them  to  draw  upon  the  Serampore  Mission.  Their 
connection  with  the  Board  of  Commissioners  had 
ceased,  and  there  had  not  been  time  for  a  similar  con- 
nection to  be  formed  with  the  Baptists.  Several  months 
must  intervene  from  the  time  of  their  baptism  before 


A    MKMORIAI,.  63 

they  would  know  how  they  and  their  movements  were 
regarded  at  home,  and  that  period  had  not  yet  elapsed. 
And  still  they  pushed  on  as  if  not  doubting  the  care 
of  Him  who  controls  the  ravens  and  all  other  instru- 
mentalities. 

About  four  months  had  now  been  occupied  on  the 
island,  and,  though  the  governor  would  have  been 
pleased  with  their  continuance,  and  would  have  pat- 
ronized a  mission,  they  felt  that  they  must  go  where 
there  seemed  to  be  a  prospect  of  a  permanent  advance 
against  heathenism.  After  much  deliberation  they 
determined  to  undertake  the  establishment  of  a  mission 
on  Pulo  Penang,  or  Prince  of  Wales  Island,  lying  in 
the  Strait  of  Malacca,  and  not  so  very  far  from  the 
locality  contemplated  in  their  earliest  plans.  But  no 
opportunity  appeared  for  procuring  a  passage  to  that 
island,  direct  from  the  Isle  of  France,  so  they  resolved 
to  go  to  Madras,  with  the  hope  of  obtaining  a  passage 
from  there.  On  May  7,  1813,  they  embarked  in  the 
Countess  of  Harcourt,  and  had  a  pleasant  voyage,  arriv- 
nig  on  June  4th,  and  meeting  with  a  cordial  reception 
by  the  English  missionaries  there.  But  they  were  now 
again  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  East  India  Company, 
and  their  arrival  was  announced  to  the  Governor- 
General,  who  would  very  likely  order  them  to  go  to 
England.  Haste  to  get  away  to  sea  was  very  impor- 
tant, and  as  no  vessel  for  Penang  was  in  the  harbor  they 
concluded  to  take  one  bound  for  Rangoon,  Burmah. 
They  were  shut  up  to  a  choice  between  this  course 
and  another  arrest,  with  shipment  to  England. 

Providence  thus  took  all  the  plans  into  His  own 
hands  and  carried  them  whither  it  pleased  Him  to  have 


64  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

them  go.  They  would  not  have  chosen  Rangoon  at 
the  time,  having  regarded  a  mission  there  with  "feel- 
ings of  horror,"  but  very  soon  they  acquiesced  in  the 
divine  disposing,  and  felt  determined  to  make  the  most 
of  the  opportunity  before  them.  Mrs.  Judson  even 
felt  glad  of  the  prospect  of  laboring  for  a  people  "  who 
had  never  heard  the  sound  of  the  Gospel,  or  read,  in 
their  own  language,  of  the  love  of  Christ."  And 
though  their  trials  should  continue  to  be  great  and 
their  privations  severe,  she  would  count  them  all  as 
trifling  compared  to  the  privilege  of  presenting  to  the 
degraded  and  deluded  Burmans  the  consolations  and 
joys  of  the  Gospel,  and  making  them  sharers  with 
themselves  "  in  joys  as  exalted  as  heaven,  durable  as 
eternit3^"  She  even  strengthened  her  mind  with  the 
consideration  that  though  she  now  bade  adieu  to 
"polished,  refined,  Christian  society,"  she  would 
henceforth  live  beyond  the  temptations  peculiar  to 
European  settlements  in  the  East. 

Madras  is  on  the  west  coast  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal 
and  Rangoon  on  the  east,  somewhat  to  the  north.  On 
the  2 2d  of  June  they  embarked  for  Rangoon,  in  the 
Georgiana,  "a  crazy  old  vessel,"  and  "a  small,  dirty 
vessel,"  without  suitable  apartments  for  passengers. 
The  captain  was  the  only  person  aboard  w^ho  could 
speak  English.  The  passage  was  very  tedious,  and  at 
one  time  very  perilous.  The  ship  was  about  to  be 
driven  and  wrecked  on  the  Andaman  Islands,  and  this 
disaster  was  escaped  only  by  steering  it  through  a 
narrow  channel  between  two  of  them.  The  wind 
being  broken  by  the  islands,  the  water  was  very 
smooth,  yet  the  captain  never  before  had  been  there. 


A   ME^MORIAL.  65 

and  the  coasts  were  inhabited  by  cannibals.  Had  a 
change  occurred  to  cast  it  ashore,  passengers  and  crew 
doubtless  would  have  been  killed  and  eaten  by  the 
natives. 

Before  leaving  Madras,  and  by  the  advice  and 
assistance  of  friends  there,  Mrs.  Judson  had  procured 
a  European  woman-servant,  and  she  had  gone  aboard 
the  ship  two  days  in  advance  of  herself.  This  woman 
fell  upon  the  deck  in  a  fit  and  instantly  died,  before  or 
immediately  after  the  vessel  left  the  shore.  This  cir- 
cumstance took  away  Mrs.  Judson's  special  and  much- 
needed  nurse,  leaving  her  without  either  female  attend- 
ant or  medical  adviser;  and  it  so  shocked  her  "frame 
and  feelings"  as  to  cause  premature  illness,  and  bring 
her  near  to  the  gates  of  death.  Her  only  attendant 
was  Dr.  Judson,  and  her  only  apartment  was  what  was 
made  of  canvas.  The  sea  became  very  tempestuous, 
keeping  the  little  craft  in  continual  motion  and  the 
crew  in  tumultuous  activity.  The  quietude  of  body 
and  mind  essential  to  her  recovery  it  seemed  impossible 
to  secure,  and  in  her  darkness  and  distress  she  surren- 
dered hope  of  living.  But  when  the  vessel  entered 
the  still  water  mentioned  above  she  obtained  rest  and 
began  to  convalesce.  The  Providence  in  storm  added 
new  strength  to  her  faith.  And  yet  had  she  known 
the  dangers  still  incurred — the  black  rocks  beneath  and 
the  savage  coasts  on  either  hand — she  would  have  con- 
tinued to  feel  that  there  was  no  end  of  perils  in  pagan 
climes,  and  might  have  lost  by  fear  more  than  she 
gained  by  quietness.  There  was  a  reality  associated 
with  that  smooth  sailing  among  the  Andamans  which 
the  most  ardent  opposer  of  missions  would  scarcely  be 


66  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

disposed  to  construe  into  a  romance.  A  third  of  a 
century  thereafter,  Mr.  Judson,  in  referring  to  experi- 
ences of  this  voyage,  remarked  that  "his  first  child 
slept  beneath  the  waters  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  a  victim 
to  Anglo-Indian  persecution,  a  baby-martyr,  without 
the  martyr's  conflict." 

On  the  eastern  side  of  the  island  the  vessel  met 
with  favorable  winds  which  gently  wafted  it  forward, 
giving  its  saintly  patient  further  opportunity  to  recover. 
And  after  a  voyage  of  three  weeks  under  such  trying 
circumstances,  in  which  Mr.  Judson  "  came  to  experi- 
ence the  awful  sensation  resulting  from  the  expectation 
of  an  immediate  separation  from  his  beloved  wife,  the 
only  remaining  companion  of  his  wanderings,"  the 
Georgiana  came  to  harbor  in  Rangoon,  July  13,  18 13. 


A   MKMORIAI..  67 


VI. 

^ant^OOn-ANCHORING. 

O,  when  will  my  wanderings  terminate ! — Mrs.  Judson. 

"  Not  by  appointment  do  we  meet  Delight  or  Joy, 
They  heed  not  our  expedlancy; 
But  round  some  corner  in  the  streets  of  life 
They  on  a  sudden  clasp  us  with  a  smile." 

WHAT  a  relief  to  both  of  them  was  another  sight 
of  land !  To  them,  terra  fir  ma  had  come  to  be 
a  phrase  with  a  meaning.  Yet  Mrs.  Jiidson  could  not 
now  enjo}^  the  satisfaction  of  stepping  on  it,  inasmuch 
as  she  was  unable  to  walk  and  had  not  left  her  bed  for 
half  an  hour.  Nor  was  she  to  be  gratified  with  an  imme- 
diate release  from  her  noisome  and  noxious  quarters. 
It  seemed  necessary  for  her  to  remain  aboard  until  the 
following  day,  but  Mr.  Judson  went  ashore  just  at 
night  to  take  a  view  of  the  place,  and  of  the  mission 
house  in  charge  of  Felix  Carey.  The  prospect  of 
Rangoon  as  they  approached  it  was  quite  dishearten- 
ing, and  a  closer  observation  was  more  so.  "  So  dark 
and  cheerless  and  unpromising  did  all  things  appear," 
says  Mr.  Judson,  "that  the  evening  of  that  day,  after 
my  return  to  the  ship,  we  have  marked  as  the  most 
gloomy  and  distressing  that  we  have  ever  passed. 
Instead  of  rejoicing,  as  we  ought  to  have  done,  in 
having  found   a  heathen    land    from   which    we   were 


68  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

not  immediately  driven  away,  such  were  our  weak- 
nesses that  we  felt  we  had  no  portion  left  here  below, 
and  found  consolation  only  in  looking  beyond  our  pil- 
grimage, which  we  tried  to  flatter  ourselves  would  be 
short,  to  that  peaceful^  region  where  the  wicked  cease 
from  troubling  and  the  weary  are  at  rest." 

The  next  day  Mrs.  Judson  was  carried  into  the 
town.  There  was  no  method  of  conveyance  except  a 
horse,  and  she  was  unable  to  ride ;  and  it  was  decided 
that  she  be  carried  in  an  arm-chair.  Two  bamboos 
were  thrust  through  the  chair,  and  the  precious  burden 
was  thus  taken  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  natives — 
•'borne  of  four."  "When  they  had  carried  me  a  little 
way  into  the  town,"  she  says,  "  they  set  me  down  under 
a  shade,  when  great  numbers  of  the  natives  gathered 
around,  as  they  had  seldom  seen  an  English  female. 
Being  sick  and  weak  I  held  my  head  down,  whicli 
induced  many  of  the  native  females  to  come  very  near 
and  look  under  my  bonnet.  At  this  I  looked  up  and 
smiled,  at  which  they  set  up  a  loud  laugh.  They 
again  took  me  up  to  carry,  and  the  multitude  of  natives 
gave  a  shout,  which  much  diverted  us.  They  next 
carried  me  to  a  place  they  called  the  custom-house. 
It  was  a  small,  open  shed,  in  which  were  seated  on 
mats  several  natives,  who  were  the  custom-house 
officers.  After  searching  Mr.  Judson  very  closely, 
they  asked  liberty  for  a  female  to  search  me,  to  which 
I  readily  consented.  I  was  then  brought  to  the  mission 
house,  where  I  have  entirely  recovered  my   health." 

How  utterly  unconscious  were  those  bearers  of  the 
value  of  the  frail  being  brought  ashore !  To  the  crowd 
she  was  a  curiosity,  a  flower ;  to  the  nation  a  beneficent 


A    MKMORIAI,.  69 

power,  destined  to  come  into  its  recognition  as  such, 
and,  after  aiding  in  introducing  a  new  religious  faith, 
resting  upon  better  promises,  to  be  held  in  its  grateful 
remembrance  and  ever  increasing  honor. 

"Oh  when  will  my  wanderings  terminate!"  said 
Mrs.  Judson,  in  her  homeless  situation  on  the  Isle  of 
France,  at  the  time  when  the  prospect  of  remaining 
there  had  vanished,  and  but  a  single  week  after  arrival. 
Heretofore  this  dove  of  peace  had  been  seeking  a  place 
on  which  to  rest  her  foot.  Nearly  one  and  a  half 
years  had  she  spent  "in  journeyings  often,"  having 
been  turned  aside  frequently  by  vain,  delusive  hopes, 
and  now  she  comes  to  the  kingdom  on  which  Mr. 
Judson  had  originally  fixed  his  mind,  and  in  the  time 
of  its  great  need.  Had  they  come  directly  here  at  the 
first,  they  might  have  revolted  at  the  sight  before 
them,  and  concluded  that  they  were  mistaken  as  to  the 
indications  of  Providence  concerning  them.  But 
touching  the  margins  of  different  places,  and  brief 
sojournings  in  some  seats  of  paganism,  had  con- 
vinced them  that  man  everywhere  was  vile.  They 
were  satisfied  that  they  could  not  flee  to  another  city 
with  a  hope  of  finding  heathenism  in  less  degraded 
forms.  And  now  that  they  were  beyond  occasion  to 
fear  molestation  by  the  British  Government,  whose 
flag  should  have  been  a  sign  of  full  protection,  they 
settled  down  to  the  hard  and  tedious  labor  of  introduc- 
ing to  benighted  Burmah  the  Glad  Tidings  first  her- 
alded by  angels  above  Judea's  plains. 

Rangoon  is  the  chief  seaport  of  the  Burman  Em- 
pire. It  is  on  the  Rangoon  river,  one  of  the  outlets, 
and    near    the    mouth   of   the   Irrawaddy,  the   great 


70  ANN    H.   JUDSONr 

river  of  Farther  India.  The  Irrawaddy  forks  at  about 
ninety  miles  from  the  sea,  the  westward  branch  form- 
ing the  Bassein  river,  and  the  eastward  subdividing 
and  finally  entering  the  sea  by  ten  mouths.  One  of 
the  eastern  branches  is  the  Rangoon  river.  This 
system  of  water-ways  rises  far  up  in  the  mountains  of 
northern  Burmah;  how  far,  may  be  inferred  from  the 
fact  that  it  is  navigable  for  river  steamers  as  far  as  to 
Bhamo,  840  miles.  Bhamo  and  Rangoon  are  thus  two 
important  strategical  points  for  the  conquest  of  Asia 
to  Christ;  the  latter,  about  thirty  miles  from  the  sea, 
having  a  fine  harbor  and  accessible  by  ships  of  800  to 
1,000  tons.  Rangoon  was  the  first  place  in  the  coun- 
try occupied  by  American  Baptist  missions  and  Bhamo 
one  of  the  latest. 

An  English  traveler  who  passed  through  Rangoon 
at  about  the  time  the  Judsons  arrived  there,  as  quoted 
by  Dr.  Edward  Judson,  described  it  as: 

A  miserable,  dirty  town,  containing  8,000  to  10,000  inhabi- 
tants, the  houses  being  built  with  bamboo  and  teak  planks, 
with  thatched  roofs — almost  without  drainage,  and  intersected 
by  muddy  creeks,  through  which  the  tide  flowed  at  high  water, 
It  had  altogether  a  mean,  uninviting  appearance,  but  it  was  the 
city  of  government  of  an  extensive  province  ruled  over  by  a 
viceroy,  a  woongyee  of  the  empire,  in  high  favor  at  court. 

Some  missionary  endeavor  had  been  put  forth  in 
this  city,  beginning  in  1807,  when  two  English  brethren 
came  to  it  from  Serampore.  One  of  these,  Mr.  Mardon, 
remained  but  a  few  months ;  the  other,  Mr.  Chater,  was 
joined  by  Mr.  Felix  Carey,  son  of  Dr.  Wm.  Carey,  and 
soon  after  two  others  from  the  London  Missionary 
Society  also  entered  the  mission.     The  work  of  trans- 


A   MEMORIAI..  71 

lating  the  New  Testament  was  prosecuted  to  some 
extent,  but  the  mission  was  reduced,  by  death  and 
removal,  till  Mr.  Carey  alone  remained,  and  he  decided 
to  leave  it  also. 

When  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson  arrived,  there  were  no 
helps  at  hand  except  parts  of  a  grammar  and  dictionar>^ 
and  the  partial  translation  mentioned.  Mr.  Carey  was 
at  Ava,  the  capital,  by  order  of  the  king,  and  was 
wholly  occupied  with  the  king's  business.  Mrs.  Carey, 
a  native  of  the  country,  was  still  at  the  mission  house 
in  Rangoon,  and  she  received  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson  and 
provided  them  with  a  home.  The  house  was  erected 
by  Mr.  Chater;  was  located  in  a  pleasant  rural  spot, 
half  a  mile  from  the  walls  of  the  town.  It  was  large 
and  convenient,  and  adapted  to  the  climate,  though 
unfinished:  Connected  with  it  were  gardens  enclosed, 
containing  about  two  acres  of  ground,  full  of  fruit 
trees  of  various  kinds.  Mrs.  Judson  now  felt  that  she 
had  a  resting  place ;  her  health  was  restored,  and  she 
attained  more  true  peace  of  mind  and  trust  in  the 
Savior  than  she  had  ever  before  experienced,  and 
was  more  contented  and  happy  than  ever  she  had 
expected  to  be  in  such  a  situation.  Mr.  Carey,  after 
being  absent  at  Ava  for  about  a  year,  and  being  ordered 
to  reside  there,  returned  and  removed  his  family,  leav- 
ing Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson  again  alone.*  They  applied 
themselves  closely  to  the  acquirement  of  the  language, 
making  some  headway,  and  soon  finding  pleasure  in 
conversing    with    the    Burmans.      Mrs.   Judson   was 

-The  brig-  in  which  Mr.  Carey  embarked  upset  in  the  river,  and  Mrs. 
Carey,  two  children,  all  the  women-servants,  and  some  of  the  men-servants 
who  could  not  swim,  were  drowned. 


72  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 

equally  as  zealous  as  her  husband  in  this  pursuit ;  at 
the  same  time  her  habit  of  communing  with  God  by 
means  of  His  Word  and  by  prayer  became  an  increasing 
delight,  and  she  grew  strong  in  spirit  and  in  desire  for 
the  redemption  of  the  deluded  heathen. 

It  was  found,  eventually,  to  be  most  desirable  to 
live  in  the  city.  The  mission  house  was  near  to  the 
place  where  criminals  were  executed,  and  where  offal 
was  thrown,  and  not  far  from  the  place  for  burning  the 
dead.  It  was  also  beyond  the  protection  of  the  walls, 
exposed  to  the  predatory  excursions  of  wild  beasts  and 
of  men  scarcely  better.  On  the  loth  of  January,  1814, 
they  moved  into  town.  Mrs.  Judson,  heroine  that  she 
was,  makes  the  removal  due  only  "partly  through  fear 
of  robbers,"  and  mentions  the  desire  of  being  more 
with  the  natives,  of  learning  more  of  their*  habits  and 
manners,  and  of  being  in  the  way  of  getting  the  lan- 
guage much  quicker. 

It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  though  in  the  midst 
of  a  populous  city,  the  missionaries  were  still  in  a 
state  of  isolation.  To  be  without  the  language  of  a 
people  is  to  be  without  means  of  intelligent  communi- 
cation, without  acquaintance  and  lonely.  A  large  city 
in  one's  own  country,  without  friendly  acquaintance- 
ship, conduces  to  loneliness  equally  with  a  wilderness ; 
how  much  more  a  city  where  there  is  not  even  an 
affinity  of  tongues,  and  where  dress  and  customs  are 
so  peculiar  as  to  excite  only  curiosity  and  a  stare.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Judson  were  for  the  most  part  shut  in,  except 
as  they  formed  with  their  Burman  teachers  the  sem- 
blance of  a  society,  or  found  in  a  transient  English 
officer  or  sea  captain  an  opportunity  for  a  little  conver- 


A    MKMORIAI,.  72 

sation.  How  very  desirable  were  letters  from  home, 
and  yet  how  infrequently  were  they  received!  The 
heralding  of  an  incoming  vessel  was  like  a  day-spring, 
and  was  made  a  matter  of  record  in  their  journals  as  a 
hoped-for  sign  of  tidings  from  over  the  sea.  The  least 
intelligence  received,  through  any  means,  was  "a  great 
luxury."  And  the  lone  missionaries  would  sit  down 
to  the  epistolary  repast  with  feelings  of  mingled  joy 
and  fear,  knowing  that  whilst  it  would  present  some 
occasion  for  rejoicing,  there  had  been  ample  time  since 
the  preceding  to  justify  the  expectation  of  something 
sorrowful  also.  Then  it  would  be  so  long  before 
another!— would  they  not  partake  daintily  and  return 
often  lest  some  crumb  had  been  overlooked!  The 
expense  for  postage,  great  as  it  was  in  that  early  time, 
could  not  be  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  value 
of  the  commodity  for  the  carriage  of  which  it  paid. 

And  yet  amid  such  enforced  abstemiousness  and 
exile,  Mrs.  Judson  could  but  feel  that  "the  man 
without  a  country"  was  the  Burman.  When  she 
beheld  the  poor  Burman,  hungry  and  under  a  rapa- 
cious government  ready  to  devour  the  little  substance 
he  may  have  gathered,  sick  and  without  a  Good 
Samaritan  to  minister  unto  him,  houseless  and  no  law 
to  assure  to  him  the  little  bamboo  shelter  he  may  have 
erected,  her  heart  was  so  drawn  out  for  him  as  to 
cause  her  to  feel  that  the  land  was  to  her  one  of  milk 
and  honey,  in  contrast  with  what  it  was  to  him.  And 
then  how  infinitely  superior  were  her  spiritual  bless- 
ings !  Thus,  by  such  secondary  means  as  a  compar- 
ison  of  her   circumstances   with   those   of  the  stolid 


74  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 

creatures  about  her,  did  she  add  to  her  lovely  spirit 
the  grace  of  contentment  with  her  lot. 

After  twelve  months  of  residence  in  Rangoon,  Mrs. 
Judson's  health  was  found  to  be  in  a  state  of  decline, 
and  as  there  was  no  medical  aid  in  the  country  she  felt 
it  to  be  necessary  to  seek  its  restoration  elsewhere. 
She  therefore  embarked  for  Madras,  in  January,  1815, 
leaving  her  husband  to  care  for  the  mission,  which 
very  much  needed  his  attention.  To  further  show  the 
loneliness  of  missionary  life,  in  one  of  its  most  painful 
features,  let  it  be  considered  that  in  all  Rangoon  during 
her  absence,  there  was  not  a  Christian  with  whom  he 
could  converse  or  unite  in  prayer.  And  the  conversion 
of  a  soul,  by  which  the  blessed  sympathy  was  to  be 
created,  was  an  event  still  several  years  in  the  future. 
Ah !  there  was  a  sympathetic  heart,  beyond  the  Bay  of 
Bengal,  which  "bated  not  a  jot  of  heart  or  hope,"  and 
in  this  trying  separation  found  the  same  mercy  seat 
accessible  which  had  been  the  meeting-place  of  herself 
with  her  husband  in  so  many  precious  hours  in  Ran- 
goon. Returning  after  about  three  months,  with 
health  recovered,  her  heart  experienced  again  the  joys 
of  helpful  contact  with  his,  in  the  service  they  had 
undertaken. 

During  the  period  thus  far  embraced  by  the  narrative 
war  had  been  raging  in  America.  It  was  in  progress 
on  the  saiHng  of  the  Caravan,  and  from  that  time  the 
mails  were  under  sharp  surveillance,  and  it  was  difficult 
to  transmit  a  letter  through  from  Burmah  to  the  United 
States.  Mr.  Judson  remarks,  in  January,  18 14,  that 
he  had  not  written  a  letter  to  America  for  nearly  a 
year;  while  Mrs.  Judson  says  of  Burmah,  that  it  is  full 


A   MEMORIAL.  75 

of  commotion  and  uncertainty.  And  while  the  satis- 
faction of  hearing  from  loved  ones  was  thus  precluded, 
they  were  for  a  long  time  doubtful  as  to  their  accept- 
ance as  missionaries,  and  as  to  the  success  of  Brother 
Rice  in  creating  missionar}^  sentiment.  Mr.  Judson 
had  communicated  with  prominent  Baptists  in  Boston 
and  vicinity,  the  first  of  September,  and  just  before 
their  baptism,  in  respect  to  their  change  of  views  and 
their  willingness  to  labor  under  the  patronage  of  the 
Baptists.  In  January  the  surprising  news  was  received 
by  Dr.  Sharp,  in  Boston,  and  Dr.  Bolles,  in  Salem,  sep- 
arately, and  the  same  was  soon  spread  abroad  among 
the  churches.  The  Baptists,  as  it  proved,  were  in  a 
condition  to  be  elated  by  such  tidings.  They  were  ris- 
ing, but  they  were  comparatively  few  and  weak,  and 
the  exhilaration  of  a  little  victory,  though  occurring 
without  their  instrumentality,  and  far  from  their  sight, 
was  peculiarly  pleasant.  They  had  not  forgotten  the 
stimulating  voice  of  Mr.  Judson,  uttered  before  his  de- 
parture, urging  them  to  imitate  the  Baptists  of  Great 
Britain  in  a  foreign  missionary  enterprise.  The  facts 
taken  together — a  trophy,  a  man  of  good  repute  and 
scholarship,  a  missionary,  and  already  on  the  field  and 
preparing  for  his  work^-were  well  calculated  to  arouse 
the  denominational  spirit  of  the  churches;  while  the 
Providential  gift  cast  into  their  lap  was  a  rebuke  for 
their  seeming  indifference  to  missions,  and  it  appealed 
to  the  higher  sentiment  of  loyalty  to  Him  who  had 
commanded  His  disciples  to  go  into  all  the  world  and 
preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature.  And  hencefor- 
ward the  Judson  name  was  the  talismanic  word  by 
which  individuals  and  congregations  were  to  be  moved. 


76  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

Mrs.  H.  C.  Conant,  in  "  The  Earnest  Man,"  referring  to 
the  new  life  created  in  America  by  the  news  from  the 
Hast,  says:  "I  recall,  from  mj^  own  childhood,  vivid 
recollections  of  the  enthusiasm  which  the  topic  of  mis- 
sions always  awakened  in  the  family  circle;  of  the 
*  Mission  Box '  in  the  parlor,  through  whose  lid  many 
an  offering  to  the  cause  was  dropped  by  Christian 
visitors;  of  the  jubilee  in  the  house,  when  a  letter 
arrived  from  Mrs.  Judson,  or  the  Missionary  Magazine 
came,  with  joyful  tidings  of  some  new  triumph  of  the 
Gospel  in  far-off  Burmah." 

Missionary  societies  sprang  into  existence  in  the 
individual  churches,  as  if  by  magic,  and  several  influ- 
ential ministers  of  Massachusetts  met  at  the  home  of 
Dr.  Baldwin,  in  Boston,  and  there  organized  "The 
Baptist  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in  India 
and  other  Foreign  Parts."  This  preceded  the  arrival 
in  this  country  of  Mr.  Rice,  though  the  knowledge  of 
his  baptism  had  been  received  and  had  increased  the 
joy  and  enthusiasm  of  the  brotherhood.  Still  there 
was  a  lack  of  confidence  among  them  as  to  their  ability 
to  handle  such  an  enterprise  beyond  the  seas;  they 
were  without  experience,  and  so  soon  as  it  arose  to  their 
vision  in  its  proper  porportions  their  rejoicing  was  with 
trembling,  and  they  appealed  to  their  brethren  in  Eng- 
land to  take  them  under  their  wing  for  counsel  and 
co-operation.  The  coalition  was  wisely  declined;  the 
American  Baptists  were  left  to  their  own  wisdom  and 
strength  and  zeal,  with  God  as  their  helper,  and  the  event 
proved  a  means  of  development  to  them  far  beyond  the 
ordinary  expectation.  In  the  spring  Mr.  Rice  arrived, 
and  with  his  trumpet  voice  awakened  those  churches 


A   MKMORIAI,.  ^^ 

still  sleeping,  and  intensified  the  enthusiasm  of  those  al- 
ready awake^   And  yet  he  could  only  relate  missionary 
experiences  had  by  the  English  brethren,  agreeable  and 
commonplace  as  compared  with  what  lay  in  the  future 
of  the  American,  for  nothing  was  to  be  told  of  Mr 
and  Mrs.  Judson   except   a   year  of  wanderings   and 
lonelmess  and  obscurity,  and   hard  study  with  little 
progress  m  the  language.     In  fact,  the  basis  of  appeal 
was  the  command  of  Christ,  the  needs  of  the  heathen 
world  and   two  homeless   missionaries  casting  them- 
selves  on   our  charity.     When   it   is  considered   that 
the  motive  to  missionary  effort  was  to  be  sustained 
without  a  syllable  of  fact  from  the  field,  such  as  we 
now  depend  upon  for  the  kindling  of  the  missionary 
flame^  the  churches  of  that  day  must  be  credited  with 
a  high  type  of  benevolence.     The  general  movement, 
spontaneous  and  created,  naturally  ripened  in  the  organ- 
ization  of  the   membership,  and   ultimately.  May  14 
1814,  m   the   formation   of  the  "General   Missionary 
Convention  of  the  Baptist  Denomination  in  the  United 
States  of  America  for  Foreign  Missions,"  which,  on 
November  30,  1845,  formed  a  new  constitution   and 
took  the  name  "American  Baptist  Missionary  Union  " 
still  embracing  all  the  .states;  and,  in  the  same  year. 
The  Southern  Baptist  Convention  "  was  formed 
In  September,  1815,  the  report  of  their  acceptance 
as  missionaries  reached  the  Judsons,  bending  over  their 
books,  and  thinking  of  the  "little  meal"  in  the  barrel 
supplied  by  the  mission  at  Serampore;  and  a  compari- 
son of  dates  indicates  that  the  ship  bringing  it  and 
tha    beanng  Mr.  Rice  to  America  passed  each  other 
on  the  ocean.     That  little  should  remain  from  which 


78  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 

to  gather  information  concerning  this  Httle  matter  of 
want  and  supply,  which  wrings  woman's  heart  the 
world  over,  may  be  attributed  to  the  burning  of  Mrs. 
Judson's  papers  by  her  own  hand,  or  to  that  modest 
endurance  and  child-like  trust  that  are  better  concealed 
than  displayed.  Nearly  two  years  pass,  during  which 
the  toilers  pray  and  work  and  weep  alone.  The  strong 
heart  of  Mr.  Judson  found  its  full  counterpart  in  that 
of  the  school-girl  of  Bradford,  his  trust  in  whom  had 
been  more  and  more  confirmed.  And  while,  with  an 
unwavering  purpose,  he  could  contemplate  the  Otaheite 
mission,  prosecuted  nearly  twenty  years  before  success 
came,  and  that  under  Dr.  Thomas,  in  Bengal,  which 
was  carried  on  seventeen  years  before  the  first  convert 
appeared,  she  could  join  her  steady  faith  unto  his,  and 
await  the  tarrying  vision,  tarry  it  never  so  long.  He 
asked  for  the  return  of  his  companion,  lyUther  Rice, 
and  for  bread;  she  asked  no  more,  and  joined  him  in 
the  one  and  only  promise  to  the  givers,  that  after  some 
twenty  or  thirty  years  they  might  hear  from  them 
again. 


A    MEMORIAIv.  79 

VII. 

^Ope^—J^/S/JVG  AND  FALLING. 

Every  gift  of  noble  origin 
Is  breathed  upon  by  Hope's  perpetual  breath. 

Wordsworth, 

Hope,  like  the  gleaming  taper's  light, 

Adorns  and  cheers  the  way ; 
And  still,  as  darker  grows  the  night, 

Emits  a  brighter  ray. 

G01.DSMITH. 

TOURING  this  period  God  opened  that  fountain  in 
^^  her  heart  which  conduces  to  a  new  and  higher 
development  of  wifely  affection  and  a  better  sympathy 
with  all.  On  September  11,  18 15,  she  became  the 
happy  mother  of  a  little  son.  She  had  no  physician 
or  assistant  whatever,  except  her  husband.  They 
welcomed  their  own  to  the  light  of  life,  within  the 
shadows  of  an  idolatrous  city  which  furnished  no  one 
familiar  with  medicine  except  a  Portuguese  priest.  It 
was  just  as  well — 'twas  better;  for  he  stayed  with 
them  but  a  little  while,  and  it  left  them  with  the 
pleasant  reflection  that  they  had  ministered  to  the 
little  beam  in  his  coming,  as  they  did  in  his  stay  and 
departure.  "  They  felt  not  their  solitude  when  he 
was  with  them."  To  Mrs.  Judson  he  supplied  enter- 
tainment for  every  waking  hour;  even  the  hours  of 
painful  anxiety,  as  the  fever  came  and  went  and  his 


8o  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

coughing  and  hard  breathing  made  her  struggle  for 
her  own  breath,  were  to  be  remembered  for  the  pecu- 
Uar  love  that  mingled  with  the  pain,  and  his  last  sad 
night  was  to  be  registered  with  those  in  which  a  little 
light  shining  in  great  darkness  was  supreme  in  hel 
heart.  She  would  not  have  had  that  night  expunged 
from  her  calendar  had  such  a  thing  been  possible. 
Her  little  Roger  Williams,  aged  eight  months,  finally 
dropped  asleep  without  a  struggle,  and  was  buried  in 
a  small  inclosure  at  the  farther  side  of  the  garden.  He 
was  the  only  legitimate  child  of  foreign  parents  in  the 
place,  and  was  quite  a  curiosity  to  the  Burmans,  of 
whom  a  large  number  followed  the  corpse  to  its  final 
resting  place.  Shortly  after  the  burial,  the  viceroy's 
wife,  with  all  of  her  officers  of  state  and  attendants, 
about  two  hundred,  called  to  pay  a  visit  of  condolence. 
The  mother  had  once  carried  the  babe  to  her  house, 
when  she  took  the  velvet  cushion  on  which  she  usually 
sat  and  placed  him  on  it,  exclaiming,  "What  a  child! 
How  white !  "  The  trial  of  losing  him  was  magnified 
by  the  possibility  that  he  might  have  served  as  a 
medium  of  introduction  to  many  benighted  women. 
In  a  short  time  Mrs.  Judson  records  these  affecting 
words : 

Since  worship,  I  have  stolen  away  to  a  much-loved  spot, 
where  I  love  to  sit  and  pay  the  tribute  of  affection  to  my  lost 
darling  child.  It  is  a  little  inclosure  of  mango  trees,  in  the 
center  of  which  is  erected  a  small  bamboo  house  on  a  rising 
spot  of  ground,  which  looks  dow^n  on  the  new  made  grave  of 
an  infant  boy.  Here  I  now  sit ;  and  though  all  nature  around 
wears  a  romantic,  delightful  appearance,  yet  my  heart  is  sad, 
and  my  tears  frequently  stop  my  pen. 


A   MKMORIAIv.  8 1 

Some  weeks  after  little  Roger's  death,  another 
trial  of  a  different  character,  and  very  unexpected, 
crossed  their  pathway,  impeding  their  progress  and 
somewhat  diverting  their  attention  from  their  recent 
bereavement.  Mrs.  Judson  wrote:  "All  is  Egyptian 
darkness  around  us — not  a  glimpse  of  light.  Mr.  Jud- 
son had  just  completed  a  tract  in  the  Burman  language, 
a  summary  of  the  Christian  religion,  when  his  eyes 
became  so  weak  and  his  head  so  much  affected  that 
he  was  obliged  to  lay  aside  all  study,  and  could  not 
even  look  into  an  English  book.  *  '^'  *  This  we 
feel  to  be  a  severe  affliction.  My  health  is  indifferent. 
We  are  anxiously  looking  for  the  arrival  of  the  other 
missionaries,  who  we  hope  will  strengthen  this 
mission." 

During  the  illness  referred  to,  Mr.  Judson,  ever  on 
the  alert  to  find  a  way  of  procedure,  found  he  could 
employ  the  time  in  composing  a  grammar  of  the  lan- 
guage, from  materials  he  had  already  acquired ;  and  by 
giving  attention  to  this  work  for  a  brief  time  he  was 
enabled,  on  the  third  anniversary  of  his  arrival  in 
Rangoon,  to  complete  a  work  which  he  called  "  Gram- 
matical Notices  of  the  Burman  lyanguage,"  and  which 
was  highly  commended  in  critical  notices.  But  his 
health  seemed  to  require  some  expedient  not  yet  tried, 
and  a  voyage  to  Calcutta  was  decided  upon.  In  this 
the  faithful  wife  was  to  accompany  him ;  but  the  vessel 
having  been  delayed,  the  measure  was  relinquished. 

At  this  time  the  arrival  in  Bengal  of  a  reinforce- 
ment of  the  mission  was  announced — Rev.  Geo.  H. 
Hough  and  his  wife.  On  reaching  Calcutta  they 
ascertained  that  Dr.  Carey  was  in  receipt  of  letters 


82  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

from  Mr.  Judson,  expressing  a  desire  to  have  some 
small  tracts  printed  at  Serampore.  The  Doctor  and 
his  associates  at  once  advised  that  a  printing  office  be 
established  at  Rangoon,  and  with  their  characteristic 
liberality  they  presented  to  the  mission  there  an  outfit 
— press,  types  and  other  printing  apparatus — which 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hough  took  along,  and  which  greatly 
increased  the  joy  consequent  on  their  arrival.  No  one 
on  this  side  of  the  sea  can  realize  what  a  dayspring  this 
reinforcement  was.  And  no  one  at  all  thoughtful  will 
fail  to  reflect  that  Mrs.  Judson  would  participate  as 
fully  in  the  benefits  as  would  her  husband,  and  that 
the  vSUpport  of  her  heart  by  means  of  a  female  com- 
panion would  be  of  no  small  importance  to  the  good 
of  all  and  the  advancement  of  the  cause.  The  glad 
day  of  arrival  was  October  15,  18 16,  and  it  marked  the 
beginning  of  advance  movement  in  Burmah.  The  press 
was  put  into  service;  one  thousand  copies  of  a  tract 
on  the  primary  things  of  religion,  and  three  thousand 
copies  of  a  catechism  were  struck  off,  each  of  which 
excited  considerable  interest. 

A  year  of  activity  and  hopefulness  now  passed 
away,  and  then  another  of  very  trying  experiences  en- 
sued. It  was  farthest  from  the  apprehension  of  these 
tested  saints  that  their  next  trial  was  to  be  a  sea-going 
experience,  and  that,  as  it  so  often  occurs  in  this  world, 
the  wife  at  home  should  share  largely  in  the  suffering 
consequent  upon  the  adventure  of  the  husband.  Mr. 
Judson  had  conceived  the  idea  of  going  to  Chittagong, 
some  distance  to  the  north,  to  revive  a  mission  that 
had  been  abandoned  by  the  English  Baptists,  and  to 
obtain  one  or  two  of  the  converts  to  be  assistants  at 


A    MEMORIAIv.  8t 

Rangoon.  He  contemplated  an  absence  of  only  three 
months,  to  result  in  the  recuperation  of  his  energies 
and  other  advantages  to  the  mission  at  home.  I^eav- 
ing  Rangoon  December  25,  1817,  the  vessel  soon  en- 
countered contrary  winds,  and  on  account  of  the 
difficulties  of  navigating  along  the  coast  it  tacked 
about  and  made  sail  for  Madras.  It  had  been  out 
thirty  da3^s  already,  and  the  unexpected  loss  of  time 
and  change  of  destination,  taking  him  to  a  distant 
part  of  India  contrary  to  his  wishes,  was  a  very  bit- 
ter disappointment,  mitigated  only  by  the  hope  that 
he  would  be  able  to  get  passage  from  Madras  back 
to  Rangoon.  But  defeat  still  attended  the  ship.  It 
failed  to  reach  Madras  also,  but  tacked  again  and  ran 
into  Masulipatam,  three  hundred  miles  north  of  Mad- 
ras, whence  he  went  by  palanquin  to  the  latter  place 
and  thence  to  Rangoon. 

Beneath  the  simple  recital  of  the  main  facts  to  the 
Board,  Mr.  Judson  had  a  stinging  remembrance  of 
experiences  during  the  trip,  protracted  to  nearly  eight 
months,  which  could  not  always  remain  unspoken. 
What  revealments  he  may  have  made  to  Mrs.  Judson, 
her  fragmentary  journal  does  not  indicate;  but  the 
wife  w^ho  came  into  his  sympathies  thirty  years  there- 
after has  left  a  graphic  account  of  them,  comprising  one 
of  the  most  thrilling  passages  in  his  entire  history. 
We  are,  therefore,  indebted  to  Mrs.  Emily  C.  Judson 
for  the  following,  received  from  his  own  lips : 

He  had  prepared  himself  for  onl}^  a  few  weeks'  absence 
from  home.  When  the  vessel  put  in  at  Cheduba  (on  the  Bur- 
man  coast,  towards  Chittagong),  the  nervous  affection  of  his 
head  and  eyes,  occasioned  at  first  by  low  diet,  had  so  much 


84  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

increased  by  exhaustion  and  lack  of  food,  that  he  was  unable 
to  go  on  shore.  When  they  approached  the  Coromandel  coast 
(opposite  side  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal),  and  again  encountered 
contrary  winds,  they  were  reduced  to  almost  the  last  extremity, 
and  the  constitution  of  Mr.  Judson  sank  under  these  accumu- 
lated hardships.  The  mouldy,  broken  rice,  which  they  picked 
up  from  native  vessels,  and  this  in  small  quantities,  with  a 
limited  supply  of  water,  was  their  sole  sustenance  for  three  or 
four  weeks.  He  was  accustomed  to  look  back  on  his  suffer- 
ings at  this  time  with  a  feeling  of  horror  scarcely  equaled  by 
his  reminiscences  of  Ava.  Here  he  was  alone  in  a  state  of 
passive,  monotonous  suffering,  with  no  one  to  share  his  sym- 
pathies, and  nothing  to  arouse  his  energies.  His  scanty  ward- 
robe, prepared  for  a  trip  of  ten  or  twelve  days,  had  been  long 
since  exhausted,  and  what  with  starvation,  filth,  pain,  and  dis- 
couragement, he  became  unable  to  leave  his  berth.  At  last  he 
was  attacked  by  a  slow  fever,  and  turning  in  disgust  from  his 
little  mess  of  dirty  rice,  he  begged  continually  for  water !  water ! 
water!  without  ever  obtaining  enough  to  quench,  even  for  a 
moment,  his  devouring  thirst.  At  length  the  vessel  came  to 
anchor  in  the  mud  of  Masulipatam,  some  two  or  three  miles 
from  the  low,  uninviting  beach,  and  the  captain  came  to  in- 
quire if  he  would  be  taken  on  shore.  The  fact  that  they  were 
near  land  seemed  to  him  an  incredible  thing,  a  kind  of  dreamy 
illusion  too  fanciful  to  interest  him.  After  some  urging,  how- 
ever, he  became  sufficiently  roused  to  pencil  a  note,  which  he 
addressed  to  "Any  English  resident  of  Masulipatam,"  begging 
only  for  a  place  on  shore  to  die.  After  a  little  while  one  of 
the  men  came  below  to  tell  him  that  a  boat  was  approaching 
from  the  shore.  He  now  succeeded  in  crawling  to  the  window 
of  his  cabin,  from  which  he  plainly  distinguished,  in  the 
rapidly  moving  boat,  both  the  red  coat  of  the  military  and  the 
white  jacket  of  the  civilian.  In  the  first  thrill  of  jo3^ous  sur- 
prise, the  sudden  awakening  of  hope  and  pleasure,  he  threw 
himself  on  his  knees  and  wept.  Before  his  new  friends  were 
fairly  on  board  he  had  succeeded  in  gaining  some  little  self- 
control;  but  he  added,  his  voice  faltering  and  his  eyes  filling 
with  tears  as  he  related  the  incident  to  the  writer,  "  The  white 
face  of  an  Englishman    never  looked  to  me  so  beautiful,  so 


A    MKMORIAIv.  85 

like  the  conception  of  what  angel  faces  are,  as  when  these 
strangers  entered  my  cabin."  They  were  very  much  shocked 
at  his  visible  wretchedness ;  he  was  haggard,  unshaven,  dirty, 
and  so  weak  that  he  could  with  difficulty  support  his  own 
weight.  Their  earnest  cordiality  was  peculiarly  grateful  to 
him.  One  of  the  officers  took  him  to  his  own  house,  supplied 
him  from  his  own  wardrobe,  procured  a  nurse,  whom,  however, 
he  had  occasion  to  employ  hut  a  short  time,  and  displayed 
throughout  a  generous  hospitality  which  Mr.  Judson  never 
forgot. 

Another  severe  feature  of  this  trial  was,  that  to  the 
failure  of  his  undertaking  was  added  the  reflection 
that  affairs  at  Rangoon,  as  he  left  them,  did  not  admit 
of  such  a  protracted  absence,  and,  yet  that  he  could 
not  hear  from  them,  nor  in  any  way  relieve  the  terrible 
anxiety  concerning  himself,  which  he  had  reason  to 
believe  was  distressing  the  heart  of  her  who  was 
dearer  to  him  than  life.  His  gravest  fears  were  well 
founded.     She  writes  at  the  time : 

Three  months  of  Mr.  Judson's  absence  had  nearly  expired, 
and  we  had  begun  to  look  for  his  return,  when  a  native  boat 
arrived,  twelve  days  from  Chittagong,  bringing  the  distressing 
intelligence  that  neither  Mr.  Judson  nor  the  vessel  had  been 
heard  of  at  that  port.  I  should  not  have  given  so  much  credit 
to  this  report  as  to  have  allowed  its  harassing  my  feelings, 
had  it  not  been  corroborated  by  communication  from  my 
friends  at  Bengal,  who  arrived  just  at  this  time.  From  the 
circumstance  that  the  vessel  had  not  reached  the  port  of  des- 
tination I  knew  not  what  conclusion  to  draw.  Hope,  at  times, 
suggested  the  idea  that  the  ship's  course  might  have  been 
altered,  that  she  might  yet  be  safe;  but  despondency  more  fre- 
quently strove  to  convince  me  that  all  was  lost.  Thus  was  I, 
for  four  months,  in  that  agonizing  state  of  suspense,  which  is 
frequently  more  oppressive  than  the  most  dreaded  certainty. 


86  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 

Her  suspense  of  four  months  b}^  no  means  com- 
passed the  agony  of  the  entire  period  of  his  absence, 
nor  even  that  felt  on  account  of  his  absence.  Other 
circumstances  of  an  exciting  nature  intervened.  She 
had  aimed  to  keep  her  mind  preoccupied  with  duties 
of  the  mission,  particularly  the  instruction  of  some 
Burman  women,  and  thus  do  good  while  excluding 
painful  thoughts  and  apprehensions  as  to  her  beloved 
husband.  And  w^hile  she  succeeded  in  supplying  her 
brains  and  hands  with  work,  her  attention  was  sud- 
denly diverted  by  new  and  alarming  occurrences  in  the 
city  and  mission.  They  were  such  as  to  cause  her  to 
feel  the  need  of  Mr.  Judson's  presence  more,  if  possi- 
ble, than  ever  before;  so  that  new  troubles  did  not 
make  her  oblivious  to  his  detention,  but  added  to  them 
the  weight  of  a  possible  bereavement  and  at  a  most 
critical  juncture. 

The  mission  was  reduced  to  the  last  extremity,  and 
would  have  been  wholly  abandoned,  says  Dr.  Wayland, 
but  for  the  conduct  of  that  heroic  woman.  "  Mr. 
Hough,"  she  wrote,  "received  an  order,  couched  in 
the  most  menacing  language,  to  appear  immediately 
at  the  court-house,  to  give  an  account  of  himself  This, 
so  unlike  any  message  we  had  ever  before  received, 
from  government,  spread  consternation  and  alarm 
among  our  teachers,  domestics  and  coherents ;  some  of 
whom  followed  Mr.  Hough  at  a  distance,  and  heard 
the  appalling  words  from  some  of  the  officers,  that  a 
royal  order  had  arrived  for  the  banishment  of  all 
foreign  teachers.  As  it  was  late  when  Mr.  Hough 
arrived  at  the  court-house,  he  was  merely  ordered  to 
give  security  for  his  appearance  at  an  early  hour  on 


A  me;morial.  87 

the  approaching  day,  when,  to  use  their  own  unfeeling 
language,  '  if  he  did  not  tell  all  the  truth  relative  to 
his  situation  in  the  country,  they  would  write  with 
his  heart's  blood. '" 

Mrs.  Judson  was  senior  in  the  mission,  and  upon 
her  rested  the  responsibility  for  deciding  in  emergen- 
cies, while  her  acquaintance  qualified  her  to  proceed 
when  and  where  the  others  could  not  go.  She  was 
courageous  in  heart  for  whatever  it  was  judicious  to 
attempt.  In  the  existing  emergency  the  mission  was 
deprived  of  the  advantage  afforded  by  the  presence  at 
the  capital  of  a  vicereine,  through  whom  she  might 
appeal  to  the  viceroy.  A  change  of  administration 
seemed  to  leave  her  powerless  in  this  respect,  and  it 
exposed  the  mission  to  all  the  ills  that  petty  officers 
might  be  inclined  to  inflict.  Still,  like  Esther,  she 
determined  to  try  to  reach  the  ear  of  His  Highness, 
using  her  teacher  in  drawing  up  the  petition,  and  bas- 
ing the  appeal  on  the  desecration  committed  in  de- 
manding Mr.  Hough's  appearance  on  the  sacred  day, 
and  requesting  that  molestation  might  cease.  On  ap- 
proaching the  government  house  the  viceroy  discovered 
her,  and  kindly  invited  her  to  approach  and  make 
known  her  desires.  What  she  requested  was  granted, 
and  so  Mr.  Hough,  after  having  been  detained  to 
answer  a  large  number  of  trivial  and  taunting  ques- 
tions, without  privilege  of  obtaining  refreshment,  was 
released,  and  an  order  given  that  he  should  be 
molested  no  more.  But,  in  consequence  of  this  up- 
roar, Mrs.  Judson's  class  of  thirty  or  more  Burman 
women  was  scattered  and  reduced  to  ten  or  twelve. 


88  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

The  cholera  now  began  to  rage  among  the  natives, 
it  being  the  hottest  season  of  the  }' ear,  and  Rangoon 
was  filled  with  consternation.  The  death  drum  was 
heard  all  the  day,  and,  to  expel  the  evil  spirits  to  which 
the  disease  was  attributed,  cannons  were  fired  and  the 
houses  beat  with  clubs,  in  the  belief  that  they  were  to 
be  frightened  by  a  noise.  But  the  disease  abated  not, 
though  it  passed  by  the  mission  premises,  leaving 
its  occupants  unharmed.  Added  to  this  visitation  was 
the  rumor  that  Burmah  was  on  the  eve  of  a  war  with 
Great  Britain,  causing  the  English  vessels  in  port  to 
leave  forthwith. 

Mr.  Judson  had  been  absent  six  months  and  not  a 
syllable  of  news  about  him  had  been  received.  It  was 
not  improbable  that  the  vessel  had  foundered,  or,  if 
yet  afloat,  that  an  embargo  would  be  placed  on  all 
English  ships,  in  consequence  of  war,  and  that  this 
last  circumstance,  if  no  other,  would  prevent  intelli- 
gence of  him  from  reaching  Mrs.  Judson.  At  this 
moment  of  doubt  and  uncertainty,  Mr.  Hough  plead, 
as  he  had  done  before,  that  a  complete  removal  to 
Bengal  be  effected  at  once.  She  had  stood  out  strongly 
against  such  a  summary  disposal  or  destruction  of  the 
mission  in  Rangoon,  but  now,  as  all  the  ships  except 
one  had  quietly  weighed  anchor  and  slipped  away,  the 
last  incentive,  personal  safety,  came  forward  with  all 
the  force  of  an  insuperable  argument.  She  yielded. 
"  But,"  she  says,  "  the  uncertainty  of  meeting  Mr.  Jud- 
son in  Bengal,  and  the  possibility  of  his  arriving  in 
my  absence,  cause  me  to  make  preparations  with  a 
heavy  heart.  Sometimes  I  feel  inclined  to  remain  here 
alone,  and  hazard  the  consequences." 


A    MEMORIAL.  89 

Passage  on  the  only  vessel  remaining  in  the  harbor 
was  secured  and  paid  for.  True  to  the  cause,  even  in 
this  extremity,  she  retained  Mr.  Judson's  teacher,  that  in 
case  her  almost  forlorn  hope  should  be  realized — in  case 
he  should  be  met  in  Bengal,  and  be  detained  there,  he 
might  have  the  help  to  prosecute  his  studies  in  behalf 
of  the  nation  she  now  seemed  to  be  leaving.  It  is  no 
abatement  of  her  credit  that  the  teacher,  through  fear, 
as  a  Bur  man,  finally  refused  to  go.  This  loss  in  her 
calculations  tended  to  increase  her  disinclination  to 
leuve  the  mission.  Suppose  her  husband  should  be 
making  his  way  back,  should  terminate  his  compulsory 
voyaging,  and,  with  a  bounding  heart,  cross  the  com- 
mon and  the  threshold  only  to  find  a  vacant  home,  and 
to  receive  only  an  echo  in  response  to  his  tender  call ! 
It  was  too  much  for  a  heart  like  hers  to  contemplate. 
Providentially  the  vessel  was  detained  in  the  river,  and 
when  on  the  point  of  putting  out  to  sea  the  captain 
and  officers  discovered  that  she  was  not  seaworthy,  as 
she  was  laded,  and  that  she  must  be  detained  a  day  or 
two,  or  more,  where  she  then  was.  This  gave  Mrs. 
Judson  just  the  additional  time  necessary  to  confirm 
her  mind  and  gird  her  soul  for  an  effectual  revolt 
against  this  departure.  She  rose  in  her  might,  brought 
circumstances  under  her  control,  and  hastened  back 
to  the  town.  The  captain  sent  her  up  in  a  boat,  and 
her  baggage  on  the  following  day.  Reaching  the  place 
at  evening,  she  sought  lodgings  at  the  house  of  the 
only  remaining  Englishman  in  the  city,  and  next  day 
went  directly  back  to  the  mission-house,  "to  the  great 
joy  of  all  the  Burmans  left  on  the  premises."  Having 
disposed  of  what  she  could  not  have  taken  with  her, 


90  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 

how  desolate  the  place  must  have  appeared  !  But  the 
natives  who  had  engaged  her  affections,  were  there ; 
yes,  and  her  God  was  with  her.  Modestly,  but  firmly, 
did  she  say,  "  I  know  I  am  surrounded  with  dangers 
on  every  hand,  and  expect  to  see  much  anxiety  and 
distress ;  but  at  present  I  am  tranquil,  and  intend  to 
make  an  effort  to  pursue  my  studies  as  formerly,  and 
leave  the  event  with  God." 

Events  proved,  once  more,  that  woman's  intuition 
is  more  reliable  in  most  instances  than  man's  judg- 
ment; more  especially,  that  a  consecrated  woman's 
impulse  may  be  relied  on  for  quick  and  satisfactory 
accomplishment  where  tardiness  brings  failure.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Hough,  finally  seeing  that  the  detention  of 
the  vessel  would  be  somewhat  protracted,  also  came 
back  to  town  and  remained  at  the  mission-house 
several  weeks;  but  they  liltimately  sailed  for  Bengal, 
carrying  with  them  the  greater  part  of  the  printing 
apparatus.  Mrs.  Judson  stood  to  her  work,  and  her 
faith  and  hope  were  fully  realized.  Within  a  month 
from  the  date  of  the  attempted  departure,  light  broke 
into  the  darkness.  A  vessel  was  announced,  bringing 
him  who  was  "all  the  world"  to  her,  and  whose  pres- 
ence assured  the  permanence  and  growth  of  the  mis- 
sion. Who  can  fully  appreciate  the  feelings  of  the 
devoted  wife  and  lone  toiler,  amid  oppressive  shadows 
and  imminent  perils,  at  the  time  she  penned  the 
following?  "How  will  you  rejoice  with  me,  my  dear 
parents,  when  I  tell  you  that  I  have  this  moment  heard 
that  Mr.  Judson  has  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  river ! 
This  joyful  intelligence  more  than  compensates  for 
the  months  of  dejection  and  distress  which  his  long 


A    MEMORIAL.  91 

absence  has  occasioned.  Now  I  feel  avShamed  of  ni}' 
repinings,  my  want  of  confidence  in  God  and  resigna- 
tion to  His  will.  I  have  foolishly  thought,  because  my 
trials  were  protracted,  they  would  never  end,  or,  rather, 
that  they  would  terminate  in  some  dreadful  event 
which  would  destroy  all  hope  of  the  final  success  of 
the  mission.  But  now  I  trust  our  prospects  wall  again 
brighten,  and  cause  us  to  forget  this  night  of  affliction, 
or  to  remember  it  as  having  been  the  means  of  prepar- 
ing us  for  the  reception  of  that  greatest  of  blessings — 
the  conversion  of  some  of  the  Burmans." 

It  may  safely  be  inferred,  in  view  of  the  foregoing 
circumstances,  that  Mrs.  Judson's  dejection  was  due 
more  to  the  want  of  courageous  souls  for  companions 
than  to  causes  within  herself — some  one  equal  to 
herself,  to  suggest  reasons  for  remaining  as  well  as 
reasons  for  leaving,  and  able  to  abide  b}^  the  deeper 
if  not  the  more  plausible  reasons.  Besides,  is  it  not 
probable  that  a  woman  who  is  painfully  sensitive  to 
her  own  "repinings"  and  "want  of  confidence,"  is  one 
with  whom  these  states  are  not  habitual,  in  whom  the 
particular  exercises  mentioned  exist,  after  all,  only  in 
the  minimum,  and  who  has  power  of  soul  to  rise  above 
them?  The  course  of  Mrs.  Judson  in  this  trying  or- 
deal must  elevate  her  character  in  the  judgment  of 
every  discerning  reader.  And,  O,  what  increments  of'*' 
strength  she  gained  thereby!  It  is  not  too  much  to 
believe  that  she  at  this  time  became  conscious  of  the 
heroic  element  of  her  being,  the  presage  and  provision 
in  her  nature  for  some  emergencies  unusual  to  woman. 


92  ANN  H.  JUDSON. 


VIII. 

(^han^t^— GAINS  AND  LOSSES. 

God,  that  comforteth  those  that  are  cast  down,  comforted 
us  by  the  coming"  of  Titus. — II  Cor.,  7  :  6. 

Oft  expectation  fails,  and  most  oft  there 
Where  most  it  promises :  and  oft  it  hits 
"Where  hope  is  coldest,  and  despair  most  sits. 

Shakespeare. 

AUGUST  2,  18 1 8,  was  the  day  on  which  the  ray  of 
light  penetrated  the  mission  home  at  Rangoon. 
In  a  short  time  there  was  such  glad  fruition  there  as 
families  seldom  enjoy  in  this  world,  and  as  no  one  in  a 
Christian  land  can  experience.  Any  return  from  sea- 
going, after  the  limit  of  reasonable  expectation  has 
been  passed,  and  the  "light  in  the  window"  been  re- 
moved, may  present  some  points  of  correspondence; 
yet,  unless  it  can  be  understood  what  a  difference  it 
makes  whether  there  be  some  dear  ones  nigh  to  com- 
pensate for  the  absent,  it  cannot  be  known  how  joyous 
was  the  reunion  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson,  who  were 
each  other's  sole,  human  dependence.  Both  were  some- 
what haggard  and  worn  by  their  mutual  solicitude  and 
personal  privations,  and  the  first  interchange  of  glances 
must  have  presented  a  scene  for  a  painter.  Yet,  "  each 
to  each  how  dear !  "  And  what  peculiar  emotions  must 
have  arisen  during  the  alternate  relation  of  experiences 
passed  through  when  apart,  particularly  their  painful 


A   MEMORIAI,.  93 

imaginings  as  to  what  Providence  had  allotted  them 
respectively ! 

But  this  trial  was  now  past,  except  the  recovery  of 
health  and  of  the  former  status  of  affairs  in  the  mis- 
sion, and,  well  may  it  be  added,  the  recollection  by  Mr. 
Judson  of  being  blown  about  over  the  Bay  of  Bengal, 
in  a  state  of  despair — a  remembrance  producing,  he 
says,  "  a  feeling  of  horror  scarcely  equaled  by  his 
reminiscences  of  Ava." 

Five  years  had  now  gone  by  since  the  first  Ameri- 
can missionaries  landed  at  Rangoon.  Late  in  this 
period  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hough  had  come  with  the  print- 
ing outfit,  and  they  were  now  ready  to  depart  for 
Bengal  and  take  it  with  them,  as  they  did  after  a  few 
weeks.  But  an  event  of  a  more  cheering  character 
was  the  arrival  of  Messrs.  Colman  and  Wheelock  and 
their  wives,  who  brought  loving  hearts  and  cultured 
minds  as  a  reinforcement  of  those  so  severely  afflicted 
and  worn.  They  reached  Rangoon  September  19,  18 18, 
and  "  entered  on  their  work  with  a  simple-hearted  Chris- 
tian earnestness,"  says  Dr.  Way  land,  *'  which  has  em- 
balmed their  names  in  the  memory  of  every  friend  of 
missions."* 

On   the   accession   of  these   brethren,   some   new, 
special  movement  seemed  to  be  possible  and  advisable. 

*  These  young  men  were  binary  stars  in  the  missionary  sky,  yet  they 
were  not  long  to  continue  there.  Mr.  Wheelock  was  very  soon  attacked 
with  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs,  terminating  in  consumption,  and  that 
form  of  it  which  results  in  mental  derangement.  Taking  a  voyage  for 
his  health  he,  in  a  fit  of  insanity,  threw  himself  overboard  and  was 
drowned.  This  occurred  just  cue  year  and  one  day  after  his  arrival  at 
Rangoon.  Mr.  Colman,  a  mof  t  valuable  co-worker  with  Mr.  Judson,  and 
afterward  a  missionary  on  the  confines  of  Chittagong,  north,  died  of 
fever  after  less  than  four  years  in  the  country. 


94  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 

The  laborers  were  still  few — only  three  men  and  their 
wives — a  very  diminutive  force  in  the  midst  of  the 
wide,  unsurveyed  field  presented  in  the  nation  of  Bur- 
mah;  but  the  three  trebled  the  one,  and  the  six  the 
two,  and  of  this  simple  fact  Mr.  Judson  was  in  circum- 
stances to  be  deeply  and  joyously  conscious.  To  his 
mind  it  may  have  been  so  potent  as  to  have  embold- 
ened him  to  take  the  step  he  had  long  desired  and 
expected  to  take — to  commence  the  open  proclamation 
of  the  Gospel,  in  the  face  of  the  prohibitions  of  govern- 
ment. Contact  of  soul  may  precipitate  action,  when 
the  great  forces  of  discretion  and  courage  have  brought 
the  mind  all  the  way  along  to  the  acting  point  and 
halted  there.  Mr.  Judson  was  just  now  ready,  having 
some  tracts  and  portions  of  Scripture  in  the  hands  of 
inquirers,  to  make  the  experiment  of  a  public  effort. 
Meantime,  the  other  brethren,  Colman  and  Wheelock, 
gave  themselves  zealously  to  the  acquisition  of  the 
language. 

Mr.  Judson  gave  much  of  his  time,  for  some 
months,  to  the  erection  of  a  zayat,  a  place  of  public 
resort,  much  needed  for  meeting  the  people ;  and  on 
April  4,  1819,  a  little  more  than  seven  years  from  the 
embarkment  at  Salem,  the  first  public  service  was  held. 
It  was  a  hazardous  attempt,  because  a  renunciation  of 
the  established  religion  was  punishable  with  death, 
and  those  coming  from  another  country  to  introduce 
a  different  religion,  thereby  brought  the  lives  of  the 
natives  into  jeopardy,  and  exposed  themselves  to  the 
displeasure  of  the  rulers. 

A  new  experience  to  Mr.  Judson  brought  a  new 
experience  also  to  Mrs.  Judson.     While  his  movements 


A    MEMORIAL.  95 

engaged  her  sympathies,  they  likewise  opened  to  her 
a  new  form  of  service.  In  this  case  she  entered  the 
zayat  with  him  as  a  teacher.  This  building  was  only 
thirty  or  forty  rods  from  the  house,  near  a  great  road 
leading  to  one  of  the  principal  pagodas,  and  lined  on 
both  sides  with  other  pagodas,  and  consequently  much 
thronged.  It  was  divided  into  three  parts.  The  first 
division  was  laid  open  entirely  to  the  highway,  and 
therein  Mr.  Judson  sat  all  day  long,  crying  to  the 
passers-by,  "Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye," 
etc.  The  second  was  the  middle  room,  large  and  airy, 
and  the  one  used  for  public  worship  in  Burmese  on 
the  Sabbath.  This  one  Mrs.  Judson  also  occupied  as  a 
school-room,  and  there  she  sat  through  the  long  school 
hours  of  the  tropical  days,  patiently  instructing  a  few 
pupils  on  their  blackboards— large  slates  made  black 
with  charcoal  and  the  juice  of  a  leaf— and  conversing 
with  the  women  who  called.  She  also  held  a  meeting 
every  Wednesday  evening  with  the  women. 

This  was  a  very  bold  effort  on  the  part  of  the  mis- 
sionaries. They  introduced  the  new  religion  in  a  con- 
spicuous manner,  yet  not  in  an  ostentatious  way,  by 
taking  their  position  on  Pagoda  Road,  which  was  con- 
stantly filled  with  natives  going  to  worship.  These 
idolaters'  minds  were  necessarily  occupied  with  thoughts 
and  sentiments  of  religion,  and  being  naturally  in- 
quisitive, it  seemed  that  many  of  them  would  stop  to 
inquire  into  the  new  religion,  even  at  the  risk  of  their 
lives.  To  them  religion  was  life,  anyhow,  and  they 
could  at  any  time  be  entertained  with  doctrines  con- 
cerning deities,  however  well  grounded  in  their  own 
views.     The  belief  of  the   missionaries   was   at   once 


96  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

rewarded  by  inquirers.  But  so  long  had  they  been  in 
preparing  to  receive  them,  that  when  the  first  one 
appeared  the  event  became  a  memorable  one,  and  the 
day  of  its  occurrence  an  anniversary  day.  On  April 
30,  1 819,  Moung  (Mr.)  Nau,  the  first  convert,  made  his 
first  visit  to  the  zayat.  "  He  was  then  silent  and  re- 
served, and  excited  little  attention  or  hope."  But, 
repeating  his  call,  he  became  an  object  of  much  in- 
terest, and  finally  avowed  his  determination  to  accept 
and  adhere  to  Jesus  Christ,  believing  him  to  be  the 
only  Savior.  What  joy  thrilled  the  hero  of  seven 
years  of  toil  and  sufferings !  And  with  what  blessed 
sympathy  did  the  heroine  of  the  same  participate  with 
him  in  the  first  fruits !  He  says :  "  It  seems  almost 
too  much  to  believe,  that  God  has  begun  to  manifest 
His  grace  to  the  Burmans ;  but  this  day  I  could  not 
resist  the  delightful  conviction  that  this  is  really  the 
case.  Praise  and  glory  bk  to  His  name  for 
EVERMORE.    Amen." 

On  Sabbath,  June  27,  1819,  the  first  baptism  oc- 
curred. It  was  a  day  of  unutterable  joy  to  the  mis- 
sionaries. There  were  several  strangers  at  worship, 
and  Mr.  Judson  examined  Moung  Nau  concerning  his 
faith,  hope,  and  love,  and  also  made  the  baptismal 
prayer,  before  going  to  the  water.  Then  all  proceeded 
to  a  large  pond  in  the  vicinity,  and  there,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  an  enormous  image  of  Gaudama,  the  ordinance 
of  baptism  was  administered  for  the  first  time  and  to 
the  first  convert  in  the  Burma n  Empire.  And  on  the 
next  Sabbath  the  reapers  gathered  with  this  first  sheaf 
at  the  Lord's  Table,  and  there  the  extremes  in  space 
and  civilization,  made  one  in  Christ,  sat  together  and 


A   MEMORIAL.  97 

commemorated  the  dying  of  their  common  Redeemer. 
Mrs.  Judson  had  Moung  Nau  under  her  instruction 
after  his  conversion,  and  she  narrates  the  exercises  of 
his  mind  in  reaching  for. and  grasping  the  truth,  which 
show  that  the  teachings  of  Christ  commend  themselves 
to  the  reason  of  men  the  world  over.  And  while  tak- 
ing this  care  from  her  husband,  she  continued  the 
meeting  and  teaching  of  the  women.  Inquirers  mul- 
tiplied, and  the  operations  of  the  mission  seemed  to  be 
attended  with  the  divine  favor.  Two  others  professed 
faith  and  were  urgently  requesting  baptism ;  a  request 
that,  after  reasonable  time  had  elapsed  and  satisfaction 
had  been  obtained  by  the  missionaries,  was  granted. 
On  November  7th  these  also  were  baptized.  The 
scene,  as  described  by  Mr.  Judson,  was  not  only 
exceedingly  interesting,  but  it  also  bore  touches  of 
heavenly  beauty  and  sublimity:  "About  half  an  hour 
before  sunset  the  two  candidates  came  to  the  za3'at, 
accompanied  by  three  or  four  of  their  friends;  and, 
after  a  short  prayer,  we  proceeded  to  the  spot  where 
Moung  Nau  was  baptized.  The  sun  was  not  allowed 
to  look  upon  the  humble,  timid  profession.  No  won- 
dering crowd  crowned  the  overshadowing  hill.  No 
hymn  of  praise  expressed  the  exulting  feeling  of  joy- 
ous hearts.  Stillness  and  solemnity  pervaded  the 
scene.  We  felt,  on  the  banks  of  the  water,  as  a  little, 
feeble,  solitary  band.  But  perhaps  some  hovering 
angels  took  note  of  the  event,  with  more  interest  than 
they  witnessed  the  late  coronation;  perhaps  Jesus 
looked  down  on  us,  pitied  and  forgave  our  weaknesses. 
and  marked  us  for  His  own ;  perhaps,  if  we  deny  Him 
not.  He  will  acknowledge  us  another  day,  more  pub- 


98  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

licly  than  we  venture  at  present  to  acknowledge  Him." 
In  the  evening  all  united  in  celebrating  the  Savior's 
dying  love,  in  the  Supper;  and  during  the  week  the 
first  Burman  prayer  meeting  was  held,  and  on  the  next 
Lord's  Day  ''the  three  converts  repaired  to  the  zayat, 
and  held  a  prayer  77ieeting  of  their  own  accord'' 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  such  prosperity  and 
unruffled  peace,  in  the  first  stages  of  .progress,  would 
long  continue  without  interruption.  The  religion 
being  introduced  was  really  inimical  to  all  other  relig- 
ions, and,  therefore,  must  create  hostility,  especially 
from  the  government  which  protected  the  others.  It 
was  more  a  question  of  strategy  than  of  peace,  though 
it  was  hoped  by  the  missionaries  that  formal  conflict 
might  be  averted.  The  effect  of  their  teaching  came 
to  be  seen,  and  their  proceedings  w^ere  noised  through- 
out the  city.  One  such  inquirer  as  Moung  Shway- 
gnong,  a  learned  teacher,  keen,  inquisitive,  sceptical, 
and  polemical,  was  calculated  to  be  an  agitator.  He 
was  not  firm,  however,  and  having  acknowledged  some 
of  the  fundamental  views  of  God,  and,  on  fear  of  pen- 
alty, renounced  them,  and  then  apologized  to  the 
missionaries  for  having  done  so,  he  furnished  ample 
occasion  for  a  disturbance  of  the  tranquillity  about  the 
mission.  Within  one  month  from  the  time  of  his  first 
visit,  there  was  an  entire  falling  off  in  the  visitors  at 
the  zayat.  Mr.  Judson  sometimes  sat  there  whole 
days  without  one,  while  many  were  passing  con- 
stantly. But  while  this  lack  of  interest  was,  in  one 
respect,  deplorable,  it  served  to  palliate  the  fear  of 
persecution,  since  there  would  follow,  almost  inevita- 


A    MEMORIAL.  99 

bly,  a  loss  of  confidence  in   the   success   of  the  new 
rehgion. 

In  view  of  the  interruption  of  the  zayat  work,  Mr. 
Judson  felt  that  the  cause  of  fear  experienced  by  those 
contemplating  the  espousal  of  Christianity,  must  be 
removed.  He  believed  that  the  business  of  the  mis- 
sion should  be  laid  before  the  Emperor.  In  this  view 
he  had  the  sympathy  of  Mr.  Colman,  the  only  man 
associated  with  him  now  remaining.  And  though  it  is 
very  easy  for  Baptists  on  this  side  of  the  ocean  to  offer 
strictures  on  this  deference  to  civil  government  in  mat- 
ters of  religion,  yet  some  years  of  experience  under  an 
oppressor's  rod  would  doubtless  cause  them  to  con- 
sider that  some  courses  that  are  not  justifiable  in  one 
set  of  circumstances  are  highl}-  expedient  in  others. 
At  this  juncture  it  seemed  evident  that  it  w^ould  be 
vain  to  expect  success  unless  the  favor  of  the  monarch 
were  obtained. 

Mr.  Judson  and  Mr.  Colman  having  determined  on 
visiting  the  king,  their  wives  were  to  pass  through 
another  period  ot  anxiety ;  what  it  might  be,  Mrs. 
Judson  could  well  imagine.  On  December  22,  18 19, 
the  brethren  embarked  in  a  boat  they  had  succeeded  in 
purchasing,  after  a  week  spent  in  searching.  It  was 
forty  feet  long  by  six  feet  wide,  and  was  refitted  in 
order  to  accommodate  the  company,  which  consisted  of 
eighteen  persons,  ten  of  whom  were  oarsmen.  They 
took  with  them  a  large  number  of  presents,  which 
were  necessary  to  the  access  and  service  they  ex- 
pected to  solicit ;  among  them  the  Bible,  in  six  vol- 
umes, covered  with  gold  leaf,  in  Burman  style,  and  each 
volume   inclosed    in  a  rich  wrapper.     The  Bible  was 


lOO  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

designed  for  the  Emperor,  and  it  was  hoped  that  it 
would  please  his  eye,  irrespective  of  its  character/'^ 

The  account  of  this  trip  is  fully  given  in  the  Me- 
moirs of  Judson,  by  Wayland,  and  by  Edward  Judson, 
in  the  Life  of  his  father.  The  trip  was  full  of  in- 
terest; in  fact,  it  was  a  thrilHng  adventure,  while  it 
furnished  a  chapter  of  experiences  that  was  not  with- 
out profit  to  him  who  originated  and  conducted  it. 
The  passage  up  the  river  occupied  a  little  over  thir- 
ty days ;  the  rate  being  about  fifteen  miles  per  day.  It 
was  attended  with  "perils  of  robbers,"  sleepless  anxie- 
ties, exciting  views,  and  much  study  of  the  course  to 
be  pursued  at  the  capital.  On  arriving,  every  expedi- 
ent was  employed  that  promised  to  be  at  all  helpful  in 
accomplishing  the  end  in  view.  The  presents  appeared 
to  have  the  desired  effect  on  the  subordinates  about 
the  court,  who  encouraged  the  petitioners  to  think  that 
success  awaited  them  before  the  Golden  Face,  the 
"Sovereign  of  land  and  sea."  The  King  heard  the  pe- 
tition read,  then  read  it  himself  deliberately,  and  pavSsed 
it  back  without  reply.  He  also  took  the  tract,  pre- 
pared in  handsome  form,  and  after  reading  one  or  two 
sentences,  threw  it  down  in  disdain.  The  Bible  was 
next  offered,  but  ot  that  he  took  no  notice,  remarking, 
through  the  interpreter,  that  he  had  no  use  for  their 
sacred  books — "take  them  away."  It  soon  became 
apparent  that  their  efforts  were  futile,  and  with  heavy 
hearts  they  returned  to  their  boat  and  to  Rangoon, 
after  having  expended  nearly  two  months  of  precious 
time  and  considerable  money.     Of  course,  their  failure 

=•'  This  copy  of  the  Scriptures  is  on  exhibition  at  the  Museum  of  the 
Mission  Rooms,  Tremont  Temple,  Boston. 


A    MEMORIAIv.  lOI 

was  a  source  of  weakness  to  themselves,  while  they 
had  exposed  their  cause  to  the  jealous  monarch,  and 
rendered  themselves  obnoxious  to  his  displeasure ;  and 
in  declining  to  grant  their  petition  he  had  virtually 
forbidden  the  propagation  of  Christianity,  and  might 
adduce  the  above  circumstance  on  any  occasion  as  a 
justification  of  persecution. 

On  the  contrary,  the  expedition  had  taught  the  mis- 
sionaries an  important  lesson  and,  at  least,  had  induced 
them  to  relax  all,  even  an  imaginary  dependence 
on  human  authorities  as  helpers  of  religion.  At  the 
same  time  it  discouraged  them  as  to  achieving  success 
under  pagan  rule,  and  they  conceived  the  project  of 
abandoning  the  country  at  once,  and  going  where  they 
would  be  under  the  protedlion  of  the  British  flag. 
The  thousands  of  visitors  to  the  zayat,  with  one  accord, 
as  it  were,  forsook  the  place,  passed  by  it  without 
turning  the  head,  as  if  ashamed,  or  wishing  to  deny 
that  they  had  ever  been  there.  And  why?  Because 
the  teacher,  Moung  Shway-gnong,  had  been  accused  to 
the  viceroy,  and,  as  if  intent  on  knowing  the  facts  and 
administering  penalty  in  case  the  accusation  should  be 
true,  his  majesty  had  ominously  given  the  order,  "  In- 
quire further."  That  command  was  a  "yellow  flag"  to 
the  mission  house. 

While  descending  the  Irrawaddy,  in  the  night  and 
till  after  the  midnight  hour,  the  discomfited  mission- 
aries discussed  the  prospects  of  the  mission  and  the 
proper  course  to  be  pursued  in  the  various  possible 
contingencies  in  which  they  might  find  it.  On  their 
way  they  had  been  surprised  to  meet  their  old  inquirer 
and  troubler,    Moung   Shway-gnong.      To   him   they 


I02  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

mentioned  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  propagating 
the  Christian  religion  in  Burmah,  and  their  determina- 
tion to  leave  the  Empire.  He  was  found  to  be  more 
favorable  to  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  than  he  had 
been,  and  he  begged  them  not  to  leave  Rangoon ; 
exclaiming,  "Say  not  so;  there  are  some  who  will 
investigate."  This  interview,  which  was  quite  pro- 
tracted, was  the  means  of  serious,  individual  reflection 
upon  all  the  aspects  of  the  case,  continuing  through 
most  of  the  night.  The  balancing  in  mind  of  their 
repugnance  to  the  forsaking  of  the  post  and  the  few 
converts,  with  their  dread  of  making  disciples  to  be 
imprisoned  and  tortured,  was  a  somewhat  new,  as  it 
was  a  very  trying,  experience.  In  this  state  of  mind 
they  reached  Rangoon — February  i8,  1820. 

On  the  evening  of  the  second  day  after  their  return 
they  called  together  the  three  Bur  man  converts  and 
communicated  to  them  a  full  account  of  the  expedi- 
tion to  Ava,  that  they  might  have  an  understanding  of 
the  dangers  of  their  present  situation,  and  also  stated 
to  them  their  decision  to  quit  Rangoon.  The  effect 
of  this  statement  was  surprising — a  surprising  joy. 
Whereas  they  had  assumed  that  such  intelligence 
would  discourage,  and  had  suspected  that  it  would 
drive  back  to  the  world  those  who  had  come  out  and 
espoused  Christ,  or,  at  least,  a  part  of  them,  they 
found  it  a  satisfactory  means  of  determining  their 
steadfastness.  The}^  all  appeared  immovable  and  more 
zealous  than  ever  before ;  they  vied  with  each  other  in 
explaining  away  the  difficulties,  and  in  making  the 
work  appear  hopeful.  One  of  them  soon  returned 
with  an  inquirer  and  begged  that  they  would  not  leave, 


A   MEMORIAI^.  105 

Stating  that  he  had  been  visiting  his  neighbors  and 
had  found  some  already  examining  the  new  religion. 
"Do  stay  a  few  months,"  said  he.  "Do  stay  until 
there  are  eight  or  ten  disciples.  Then  appoint  one  to 
be  the  teacher  of  the  rest.  I  shall  not  be  concerned 
about  the  event;  though  you  should  leave  the  country, 
the  religion  will  spread  of  itself.  The  emperor  him- 
self cannot  stop  it."  Moung  Nau,  the  first  disciple, 
came  in  and  expressed  himself  in  a  similar  strain. 
Afterward  the  third  besought  them :  "  Teacher,  your 
intention  of  going  away  has  filled  us  all  with  trouble. 
Is  it  good  to  forsake  us  thus  ?  Notwithstanding  pres- 
ent difficulties  and  dangers  it  is  to  be  remembered  that 
this  work  is  not  yours  or  ours,  but  the  work  of  God. 
If  He  give  light,  the  religion  will  spread.  Nothing 
will  impede  it." 

Such  utterances  from  newly  converted  heathen,  the 
first  converts,  who  were  without  suggCvStion  or  exam- 
ple from  others,  somewhat  astonished  the  missionaries 
and  deeply  affe(5led  their  hearts.  It  would  seem  that 
they  were  in  advance  of  their  instru(5lion  ;  and  the 
fact  that  much  which  was  said  was  communicated 
some  days  after  the  first  interview,  shows  that  they 
were  not  the  subjects  of  momentary  impulse.  They 
must  have  been  led  and  enlightened  by  the  Spirit. 
The  missionaries  could  not  restrain  their  tears ;  and 
they  found  it  impossible  to  leave. 

After  counseling  as  to  a  new  field,  it  was  about  de- 
cided to  go  to  Chittagong,  a  distridl  between  Bengal 
and  Arracan,  under  the  dominion  of  Bengal,  but  inhab- 
ited chiefly  by  Arracanese,  who  speak  a  language  similar 
to  that  of  Burmah.     An  English  missionary,  DeBruyn, 


104  ^^^  ^-  JUDSON. 

had  formerly  labored  there,  and  baptized  several,  who 
at  his  death  were  left  without  instru(5lion.  But  when 
the  importunities  of  the  converts  at  Rangoon  had  been 
heard  and  felt,  the  plan  was  so  far  altered  as  to  assign 
the  new  enterprise  to  Mr.  Colman;  Mr.  Judson  re- 
maining at  Rangoon.  The  disciples  at  Chittagong 
would  form  a  nucleus  of  a  church,  and  would  be  also  a 
sort  of  refuge  to  which  the  missionaries  and  converts 
at  Rangoon  might  flee  in  case  of  persecution,  and  a  sta- 
tion to  which  new  missionaries  from  the  Board  might 
at  first  repair.  It  would  be  a  base  of  operations,  or  a 
temporary  shelter.  Rangoon,  if  found  tenable,  would 
ultimately  be  the  base. 

According  to  this  plan,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Colman  em- 
barked for  Bengal,  and  proceeded  thence  to  their  new 
field,  arriving  in  June,  1820.  They  erected  a  house  in 
the  midst  of  the  native  population,  and  made  rapid 
progress  in  the  acquisition  of  the  language ;  and  Mr. 
C.  began  to  promulgate  the  truths  of  the  Gospel  pub- 
licly, when  the  animating  prospedl  was  blasted  by  his 
illness  and  death.  He  had  changed  his  location  to  one 
less  favorable  to  health — to  Cox's  Bazaar — but  one 
more  favorable  to  contacft  with  ignorance,  vice,  and 
superstition,  and  there  fell  a  martyr  to  his  zeal,  July 
4,  1822,  after  a  continuance  of  two  years. 

The  circumstances  just  detailed  form  a  part  of  the 
narrative  in  hand.  Every  change  vitally  concerned 
every  laborer ;  and  while  Mr.  Judson  felt  the  absence, 
and,  more  especially,  the  subsequent  death,  of  Mr. 
Colman,  Mrs.  Judson  realized  the  departure  of  her  as- 
sociate, Mrs.  Colman,  and  was  once  more  deprived  of 
her  helpful  presence.     They  labored  on  under  an  op- 


A  MEMORIAL.  I05 

pressive  sense  of  the  perils  they  incurred  by  their 
work,  both  to  themselves  and  their  disciples,  but  with 
a  consciousness  of  divine  approval  as  manifested  in  the 
fruits  they  reaped.  Their  experience  with  inquirers 
was  a  delightful  entertainment,  filled  though  it  was 
with  the  deepest  solicitude,  while  the  new  members, 
the  faithful  and  loving  Burmans,  comforted  their 
hearts  by  the  daily  exhibition  of  sincerity  and  spiritual- 
mindedness. 

Another  cloud  now  overshadowed  them.  Mrs.  Jud- 
son  was  afflicted  with  liver  complaint,  and,  though  she 
had  used  the  customary  remedies  for  that  day,  includ- 
ing salivation,  it  was  found  that  she  must  have  more 
effective  medical  aid,  as  her  constitution  seemed  likely 
to  give  way.  The  climate  was  about  to  take  her  life, 
and  the  professional  help  at  Rangoon  had  no  power  to 
stay  the  result.  A  trip  to  Bengal  was  resolved  upon, 
and  she  expected  to  undertake  it  without  Mr.  Judson's 
company,  there  being  no  one  now,  not  a  native,  to 
whom  the  affairs  of  the  mission  might  be  temporarily 
entrusted ;  but  she  had  become  so  weak  as  to  render  it 
impracticable  for  her  to  go  without  him.  Preparations 
began  at  once,  and  in  earnest,  because  a  special  oppor- 
tunity for  obtaining  passage  was  presented ;  and  should 
it  be  unimproved,  several  months  would  go  by  ere 
they  should  see  another,  if  indeed  Mrs.  Judson  should 
be  alive. 

The  activity  preceding  the  expected  departure  ex- 
tended beyond  the  private  affairs  of  the  missionaries. 
The  inquirers  accelerated  their  movements,  and  began 
to  request  baptism.  Some  claimed  that  they  were  full 
believers,  and  wished  to  be  baptized  before  the  teacher 


Io6  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 

should  go  away,  lest  he  might  not  return.  After  ex- 
amining and  re-examining  two  of  them,  admonishing 
them  also  as  to  the  danger  attending  the  profession  of 
a  foreign  religion,  and  finding  them  clear  and  firm,  he 
baptized  them.  The  ship  being  detained,  others  came 
forward,  deferently  3^et  urgently,  and  before  sailing  Mr. 
Judson  had  baptized  seven  more,  making  a  little  com- 
pany of  ten  native  Christians,  one  of  them  a  woman. 
All  had  professed  Christ  at  the  hazard  of  their  lives. 
What  must  have  been  the  gratification  felt  by  Mrs. 
Judson,  that  while  she  might  never  return,  a  little 
church  would  stand  in  that  wicked  city  as  the  fruit  of 
her  toils  and  sufferings,  in  part,  and  would  be  a  beacon 
amid  the  darkness  of  paganism !  How  different  the 
feeling  from  that  experienced  two  years  previous,  when 
induced  to  embark  for  the  same  port  through  consid- 
erations of  fear  and  despair !  How^  satisfactory  the 
verdict  of  time  on  her  return  to  her  loved  but  almost 
hopeless  task,  and  how  impressive  the  comment  on 
moral  heroism  !  Now  she  goes  with  a  peaceful  mind, 
because  the  care  of  her  health  is  duty  to  the  heathen  as 
well  as  to  others ;  yet  not  without  a  distressed  heart, 
because  the  young  Christians  cling  to  her  with  a  love 
that  opens  the  fountain  of  tears. 

On  the  morning  of  the  departure,  July  19,  1820,  all 
met  for  worship.  The  converts  participated,  praying 
"with  much  propriety  and  feeling."  At  noon  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Judson  started  for  the  river,  "followed  by  near  a 
hundred  people,  the  women  crying  aloud,  in  the  Bur- 
man  manner,  and  almost  all  deeply  affected."  A  few 
went  with  them  to  the  ship,  which  lay  at  some  dis- 
tance in  the  river;  the  rest  remaining  on  the  wharf. 


A  me:morial.  107 

bidding  them  farewell,  and  urging  them  to  come  back 
soon.  They  stood  some  time  on  the  quarter-deck 
looking  with  loving  interest  on  those  they  were  leav- 
ing. New  and  better  circumstances  in  missions  may 
obscure  such  seemingly  trivial  experiences;  but  they 
were  great  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  passed  through 
them,  and  they  form  some  portion  of  the  primary  ele- 
ments of  early  missionary  history.  In  the  detention 
of  the  ship  another  day,  on  account  of  the  anchor 
being  foul,  "the  teacher"  (Moung  Shway-gnong),  who 
was  one  of  the  number  recently  baptized,  espied  the 
masts  from  his  village,  and  came  off  in  a  boat  with  his 
wife  and  another  woman.  Many  others,  with  some  of 
the  converts,  also  came  aboard  and  remained  as  long 
as  the  stay  of  the  vessel  would  admit.  How  grateful 
to  their  spiritual  guides,  particularly  to  the  invalid 
seeking  restoration  for  their  sakes,  were  such  evi- 
dences of  attachment ! 

The  ship  got  under  way  on  the  20th ;  passed  the 
customary  examination  at  the  search  village  on  the 
next  day,  and  on  the  third,  at  night,  anchored  near  the 
Elephant,  in  full  view  of  the  sea.  Here  it  was  obliged 
to  wait  four  days  on  account  of  the  threatening  appear- 
ance of  the  weather ;  and  then  it  ventured  over  the  bar 
and  was  soon  out  on  the  ocean.  Mrs.  Judson  seemed 
to  rally  previous  to  the  embarkation,  and  was,  there- 
fore, enabled  to  prepare  for  it,  and  to  get  on  board  with 
more  ease  and  facilit^^  than  had  been  expected.  But 
her  suffering  returned,  and  with  as  much  violence  as 
ever,  and  the  voyage  seemed  to  be  of  no  special  benefit 
to  her.  The  vessel  arrived  at  Calcutta,  August  i8th, 
and  the  missionaries  were  received  at  the  home  of  Mr. 


I08  ANN    H.    JUDSQN. 

I^awson.  After  some  days  they  removed  to  Seram- 
pore,  induced  by  the  more  healthful  climate  of  that 
place,  and  found  a  resting  place  in  the  home  of  Mr. 
Hough,  their  former  co-laborer  at  Rangoon. 

For  two  months  Mrs.  Judson's  health  was  alter- 
nately better  and  worse,  and  then  her  physician  gave  a 
definite  opinion  that  she  had  a  chronic  affedlion  of  the 
liver,  which  could  not  be  removed  except  by  a  voyage 
to  America  or  a  protracfted  stay  in  Bengal.  And 
thereupon  Mr.  Judson  saw  the  distressing  necessity  of 
parting  from  her  and  returning  to  the  mission  at  Ran- 
goon. She  came  with  him  to  Calcutta,  to  cheer  him 
forward  as  he  embarked,  and  there  meeting  another 
physician  of  eminence,  and  receiving  from  him  the 
opinion  that,  with  prescriptions  he  would  give,  a  re- 
turn to  Rangoon  would  be  less  dangerous  than  repre- 
sented, she  concluded  to  take  passage  with  her  hus- 
band, and  trust  life  and  health  to  the  All-wise  Father. 
The  ship  did  not  sail  for  about  three  weeks,  and  mean- 
time they  were  very  kindly  cared  for  by  different  Eng- 
lish missionaries  residing  in  Calcutta,  and  by  a  3^oung 
Christian  brother  from  America,  whose  polite  atten- 
tions gave  him  also  a  place  in  their  journals  and 
hearts.  Taking  leave  of  their  cultured  friends,  with 
whom  thej^  enjoyed  the  comforts  of  civilized  life,  they 
turned  their  faces  once  more  toward  their  adopted 
home,  embarking  in  the  Salamanca,  the  vessel  which 
two  years  before  conveyed  Colman  and  Wheelock 
from  the  same  port  to  the  same  destination. 

The  voyage  from  Bengal  was  very  tedious,  occupy- 
ing nearly  six  weeks,  on  account  of  a  continued  suc- 
cession of  head-winds  and  calms ;  still  it  was  thought 


A   MEMORIAL.  109 

to  be  beneficial  to  Mrs.  Judson.  As  the  ship  rounded 
toward  the  Elephant  (or  Elephant  Grove,  so  called 
from  its  resemblance  to  the  animal),  a  point  that 
marks  the  western  outlet  of  the  Irrawadd}^,  the  mis- 
sionaries caught  a  glimpse  of  that  familiar  place,  and 
the  sight  awakened  old  memories,  old  feelings  of  anx- 
iety concerning  the  little  flock,  thirty  miles  up  the  riv- 
er, which  had  been  left  undisciplined,  unguarded  and 
subject  to  every  form  of  disaster.  And  with  all  the 
known  and  unknown  difficulties,  how  did  their  hearts 
beat  with  strong  emotions  of  desire  to  be  once  more 
with  the  dear  converts,  and  to  share  their  fortunes, 
while  leading  them  heavenward.  By  that  supernat- 
ural girding  which  invalids  are  known  to  receive 
under  great  stress  of  circumstances,  Mrs.  Judson 
must  have  been  inspired  with  renewed  life  by  the 
thought  of  so  soon  being  permitted  to  feed  the  lambs 
again,  in  the  wilderness  and  under  the  clouds  where 
they  had  so  long  been  without  a  shepherd. 

The  next  day  the  pilot  for  the  bar  and  river  came 
aboard,  and  from  him  some  gleams  of  intelligence  w^ere 
received.  A  new  viceroy  had  been  established  in  Ran- 
goon, and  thirty  thousand  troops  had  marched  through 
the  place  to  the  frontiers  of  Siam,  preparatory  to  a  war 
with  that  country.  What  forebodings  this  may  have 
created  as  to  the  consequences  of  a  disturbance  so  near 
them,  in  the  kingdom  adjoining  Burmah,  may  well  be 
imagined. 

One  day  more,  and  after  an  absence  of  nearly  six 
months,  the-  missionaries  again  lifted  their  eyes  upon 
Rangoon.  As  they  drew  near  to  the  town  they 
strained  their  eyes  to  distinguish  their  friends  in  the 


no  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

crowd  assembled  on  the  wharf.  And  who  should  be 
the  first  one  recognized,  if  not  the  man  who  had  been 
the  subject  of  their  doubts,  beyond  any  one  else — the 
veritable  Moung  Shway-gnong — with  his  hands  raised 
to  his  head,  either  as  an  expression  of  joy  or  that  he 
might  the  better  discern  them  as  they  stood  on  deck. 
On  landing  they  met  other  disciples  also,  with  neigh- 
bors, men,  women  and  children,  who,  after  the  neces- 
sary examination  at  the  custom  office,  accompanied 
them  to  the  mission  house.  Surely,  such  a  demon- 
stration, at  so  early  a  period  in  the  history  of  the  in- 
fant church,  almost  overwhelmed  by  the  surrounding 
paganism,  must  have  re-animated  the  patient,  whose 
life  had  well-nigh  gone  out  for  its  sake.  The  disciples 
assembled  in  the  evening  and  all  bowed  in  prayer,  the 
hearts  of  all  flowing  forth  in  gratitude  and  praise. 


A   MEMORIAL,.  Ill 

IX. 

^XCX^&iitxbC&—//EALTH  AND    HOMING. 

On  thy  calm  joys  with  what  delight  I  dream, 
Thou  dear,  green  valley  of  my  native  stream. 

Bloomfield's  Broken  Crutch. 

Whose  heart  hath  ne'er  within  him  burn'd, 
As  home  his  footsteps  he  hath  turn'd, 
From  wandering  on  a  foreign  strand? 

Wai^ter  Scott. 

IT  is  now  one  day  after  the  arrival,  January  6,  1821, 
and  without  waiting  to  perform  domestic  duties 
and  putting  her  things  in  order,  Mrs.  Judson  must  go 
with  her  husband  to  the  government  house  and  pay 
her  respe(5ls  to  the  dignities  there.  The  lady  of  the 
viceroy  received  her  with  marked  familiarity,  and  in- 
formed her  of  the  honors  to  which  she  had  attained, 
mentioning  the  privilege  of  riding  in  a  wau,  a  vehicle 
carried  by  forty  or  fifty  men.  The  meek  follower  of 
Jesus  before  her,  whom  she  supposed  to  be  dependent 
on  her  smiles,  might  have  told  her  of  the  surpassing 
honor  to  which  her  visitor  was  entitled — the  privilege 
of  at  last  walking  with  Christ  in  white,  amid  glories 
ineffable  and  unending. 

On  Lord's  Day  following,  most  of  the  disciples  were 
present  at  the  worship  and  the  Supper,  but  some  of 
them  were  unavoidably  detained,  in  consequence  of 
the  distress  which  pressed  upon  all  ranks  of  people, 


112  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

occasioned  by  the  expedition  to  Siam.  During  the 
absence  of  the  missionaries  the  members,  though  al- 
most destitute  of  the  means  of  grace,  and  though 
forced  by  fear  of  heavy  extortion  and  oppression  from 
petty  governmental  officers  to  fly  to  the  woods,  never- 
theless remained  firm  in  the  faith  and  in  their  attach- 
ment to  the  cause.  Shortly  Mrs.  Judson  went  to  Nan- 
dau-gong,  a  neighboring  village,  to  select  a  spot  for 
the  erection  of  a  small  school-house,  and  there  Mah- 
men-loy,  one  of  the  disciples,  of  her  own  good-will, 
opened  a  school  in  the  precincts  of  her  house,  for  the 
instruction  of  the  boys  and  girls  in  reading,  that  they 
might  not  feel  it  to  be  necessary  to  resort  to  the  priests 
for  education. 

In  February,  some  six  weeks  after  their  previous 
visit,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson  again  visited  the  viceroy 
and  his  lady,  and  were  admitted  to  their  inner  apart- 
ment. Her  Highness  "gave  some  very  interesting 
hints  on  the  subject  of  religious  toleration,"  promising 
to  introduce  them  to  the  Emperor  when  he  should  visit 
Rangoon,  in  prosecution  of  the  war  with  Siam ;  thus 
exciting  hope  that  the  present  rule  would  be  mild  and 
not  unfavorable  to  the  missionary  work.  But  after- 
ward the  impression  was  corrected  by  diredl  informa- 
tion to  Mrs.  Judson  that  toleration  extended  merely 
to  foreigners  resident  in  the  Empire,  and  by  no  means 
to  Burmans,  who,  being  slaves  of  the  Emperor,  would 
not  be  allowed,  with  impunity,  to  renounce  the  re- 
ligion of  their  Master.  "It  is  a  fact,"  said  Mr.  Jud- 
son at  the  time,  "that  except  in  our  own  private  circle 
it  is  not  known  that  a  single  individual  has  actual- 
ly renounced  Boodhism,    and   been  initiated  into  the 


A   MEMORIAL.  113 

Christian  religion."  What  might  be  the  storm  of  in- 
dignation when  their  work  should  become  known,  as 
it  must,  was  certainly  a  cause  of  constant  apprehension. 

However,  the  cause  moved  on,  with  its  alternate 
seasons  of  exaltation  and  depression,  with  few  inquir- 
ers and  with  many,  in  hope  and  in  dismay.  But  the 
time  came  when  Mrs.  Judson's  health  was  found  to  be 
a  matter  of  more  serious  concern  than  it  had  been  for 
years.  It  was  a  grave  matter  that  both  she  and  Mr. 
Judson  should  be  prostrated  by  an  acute  disorder,  of 
the  same  nature  and  at  the  same  time ;  but  that  he 
should  rally  in  a  few  days,  and  she,  after  convalescing 
from  the  new  trouble,  be  found  under  the  malignant 
power  of  her  old  disease  and  be  unable  to  rise — this 
was  alarming.  The  liver  complaint  was  now  making 
such  rapid  advances  as  to  preclude  all  hope  of  her  re- 
covery in  this  part  of  the  world,  and  a  conclusion  w^as 
reached  that  she  must  go  to  America.  The  decision 
gave  her  great  pain.  "  Those  only  who  have  been 
through  a  variety  of  toil  and  privation  to  obtain  a 
darling  object,"  she  writes,  "  can  realize  how  entirely 
every  fibre  of  the  heart  adheres  to  that  object,  when 
secured.  Had  we  encountered  no  difficulties,  and  suf- 
fered no  privations  in  our  attempts  to  form  a  Church 
of  Christ  under  the  government  of  a  heathen  despot, 
we  should  have  been  warmly  attached  to  the  individ- 
uals composing  it,  but  should  not  have  felt  that  tender 
solicitude  and  anxious  affection  which  in  the  present 
case  we  experienced." 

It  was  now  nine  and  a  half  years  since  she  left 
her  native  land,  and  after  passing  through  scenes  and 
successes  of  a  constantly  varying  character,  as  antici- 


114  ^^^  ^-  J^^DSON. 

pated,  why  should  she  not  so  rejoice  in  ending  her 
first  missionary  decade  among  her  kindred  in  America, 
as  'to  make  it  impossible  for  her  to  cast  "  a  longing, 
lingering  look  behind"— to  the  Egypt  of  her  burdens 
and  bondage  to  ills?  Ah!  the  questioner  does  not 
realize  the  strength  and  preciousness  of  religious 
attachments;  and  only  the  devout  soul,  sympathizing 
with  the  redemptive  work  of  God  on  the  earth,  could 
have  sympathized  with  her,  also,  in  the  use  of  the 
following  language :  "  Rangoon,  from  having  been  the 
theatre  in  which  so  much  of  the  faithfulness,  power, 
and  mercy  of  God  had  been  exhibited— from  having 
been  considered,  for  ten  years  past,  as  my  home  for 
Hfe — and  from  a  thousand  interesting  associations  of 
ideas,  had  become  the  dearest  spot  on  earth.  Hence 
no  ordinary  consideration  could  have  induced  my 
departure." 

Navigation  was  still  vSlow  and  inter-communication 
between  different  parts  of  the  globe  quite  irregular  and 
infrequent.  The  departure  of  a  vessel  to  or  from  the 
East  was  watched  with  great  interest,  and  packages 
of  letters  to  friends  carefully  and  punctually  prepared. 
Yet,  even  with  painstaking,  the  missionaries  did  not 
expect  to  hear  from  home  more  than  two  or  three 
times  in  a  year,  and  when  international  troubles 
existed,  still  more  seldom.  When  vessels  were  an- 
nounced they  expected  to  undergo  some  detention  be- 
fore receiving  their  mail,  and  in  some  cases  were  com- 
pelled to  go  aboard  and  search  for  it,  as  contained 
in  separate  boxes.  But  those  were  precious  parcels 
that  brought  Bradford  and  Salem  and  Boston  to  their 
doors,  giving  them  home  and  civilization  for  evening 
entertainment. 


A    MKMORIAIv.  115 

Mrs.  Judson  sailed  for  America  August  21,  1821. 
How  sorrowful  the  day  was  to  the  mission  there  is  no 
means  of  knowing.  An  event  of  such  a  character,  in- 
volving the  prospedlive  health  or  death  of  one  so  im- 
portant to  the  cause  in  Rangoon,  could  not  have 
passed  without  being  generally  noted,  nor  without 
being  entered  on  the  private  journal  of  the  sufferer. 
But  the  contingencies  of  war  have  left  us  with  but  a 
slight  mention.  The  affedtionate  disciples  who  fol- 
lowed her  to  the  river  on  her  previous  departure,  to 
Bengal,  must  have  been  more  deeply  afifedled  by  the 
consideration  that  she  was  now  to  go  beyond  the  seas, 
and  for  a  long  period.  And  this,  the  second  and  more 
virulent  development  of  her  disease  left  but  little 
ground  of  hope  that  she  would  ever  return.  Still 
Mr.  Judson  endeavored  to  manifest  the  more  hopeful 
element  of  his  being,  sending  by  her  hand  a  playful 
letter  to  Mr.  Hough,  at  Calcutta,  who  was  to  receive 
and  help  her  on  her  way. 

It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  passengers  from  Ran- 
goon, for  the  West,  did  not  go  direct.  They  first 
sailed  north-westerly  to  Bengal  by  local  vessels,  a  dis- 
tance of  hundreds  of  miles,  and  there  obtained  fur- 
ther passage  as  best  they  could  by  way  of  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Mrs.  Judson  reached  Calcutta 
September  2  2d,  having  been  thirty-two  days  on  the 
way.  She  was  received  and  cared  for  by  the  mission- 
aries in  the  kindest  manner. 

On  her  arrival  in  Calcutta  she  immediately  began 
inquiring  relative  to  a  voyage  to  the  United  States. 
To  her  great  disappointment  she  found  that  most  of 
the  American  captains  were  not  disposed  to  take  pas- 


Il6  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 

sengers  on  account  of  having  cargoes  engaged  to  the 
extent  of  the  tonnage  of  their  vessels.  Eastern  mer- 
chantmen were  then  comparatively  few,  and  to  them 
traffic  in  the  produdls  of  India  was  of  chief  impor- 
tance. The  accommodation  of  travel  was  secondary. 
One  captain,  however,  offered  to  take  her  for  1,500 
rupees —  (nearly  $750).  But  she  could  not  think  of 
causing  the  Board  so  great  an  expense.  By  the  sug- 
gestion of  a  chaplain's  wife,  Mrs.  Thomason,  she  was 
induced  to  seek  a  passage  to  England,  first,  on  account 
of  the  superior  accommodations,  medical  advice,  and 
ladies  in  company,  in  English  ships.  Mrs.  T.  aided 
her  in  arranging  for  a  passage  for  500  rupees,  the  con- 
dition of  the  fare  being  that  she  occupy  a  cabin  with 
three  children.  The  captain  was  a  pious  man ;  and 
she  was  quite  well  satisfied  with  the  arrangement,  inas- 
much as  health-seeking  was  her  object,  and  a  deten- 
tion in  England  might  be  favorable,  even  though  she 
were  kept  from  her  friends.  What  was  further  grati- 
fying, the  father  of  the  children  afterward  very  kindly 
offered  to  pay  the  entire  price  of  the  cabin,  4,000 
rupees,  thus  enabling  her  to  go  as  far  as  to  England, 
the  greater  part  of  the  distance  home,  free  of  expense. 
She  was  detained  in  Calcutta  for  some  time,  as 
shown  by  her  only  letter  from  there,  extant.  It  was 
dated  December  8,  1821,  two  and  a  half  months  after 
her  arrival,  and  in  it  there  is  no  mention  of  the  date  of 
her  expected  departure.  The  same  letter  gives  evi- 
dence of  the  noble  martyr  spirit  of  the  woman,  which 
will  not  be  subordinated  to  earthly  ties.  She  declares 
that  should  the  pain  in  her  side  be  removed  while  on 
the  voyage  to  Europe,  she  will  "return  to  India  in  the 


A   MEMORIAL.  117 

same  ship,  and  proceed  immediately  to  Rangoon." 
But  if  relief  should  not  be  obtained  she  would  pro- 
ceed to  America,  and  spend  one  winter  in  her  native 
country.  One  winter — the  last  opportunity  for  visiting 
loved  ones  to  be  limited  to  a  single  season,  that  the 
heathen  world  might  not  lack  an  hour  of  service  that 
she  could  possibly  render,  consistent  with  "the  preser- 
vation of  her  life!"  She  says,  even  before  leaving 
Calcutta :  "I  had  a  severe  struggle  relative  to  my 
immediate  return  to  Rangoon,  instead  of  going  to 
England.  But  I  did  not  venture  to  go  contrary  to  the 
convictions  of  reason,  to  the  opinion  of  an  eminent 
and  skillful  physician,  and  the  repeated  injunctions  of 
Mr.  Judson." 

While  on  the  ocean  she  had  a  severe  attack  of  her 
complaint,  which  confined  her  to  her  cabin  for  several 
days.  During  this  time  she  availed  herself  of  an 
opportunity  to  impress  the  subject  of  religion  on  the 
minds  of  two  young  ladies  of  rank  and  influence,  who 
frequently  inquired  after  her  health,  and  who,  at  her 
request,  read  in  her  hearing  such  selections  as  she 
thought  might  have  a  salutary  effect  on  their  minds. 
To  these  readings  she  added  much  serious  converse, 
and  the  seriousness  thus  created  continued  throughout 
the  rest  of  the  voyage ;  and  we  may  believe  that  her 
fidelity  was  rewarded  in  something  besides  her  own 
pleasant  consciousness  of  having  performed  a  plain 
and  present  duty. 

The  date  of  her  arrival  in  England  is  not  known, 
but  the  time  of  her  leaving  it  would  indicate  that  she 
must  have  spent  some  months  there.  She  exercised 
no  haste,  and  if  her  health  had  essentially  improved 


Il8  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

she  would  have  arisen  above  all  considerations  of 
home  and  native  land  and  yielded  to  the  stronger  at- 
tractions of  her  benevolent  activities  in  the  East. 
Finding  that  her  name,  as  connected  with  the  Bur- 
man  mission,  was  a  household  word  among  the  Chris- 
tians of  England,  of  all  denominations,  she  saw  an  op- 
portunity to  widen  and  deepen  the  missionary  convic- 
tion there,  and,  with  somewhat  improved  health,  she 
traveled  and  visited  for  that  purpose.  She  was  the 
special  guest  of  Joseph  Butterworth,  Member  of  Par- 
liament, a  Methodist,  who  had  very  courteously  urged 
her  to  accept  his  hospitalities,  and  who  was  so  de- 
lighted with  her  and  the  information  he  derived  from 
her  conversations  as  to  say  that  he  had  entertained  an 
angel  unawares.  And  while  in  his  family  she  was 
favored  with  an  introduction  to  many  persons  dis- 
tinguished for  learning  and  piety,  including  the  great 
Wilberforce.  What  a  contrast  in  her  mind  between 
these  uncrowned  kings  in  Israel  and  the  stolid 
wretches  who,  in  tinsel  and  gold,  dominate  a  nation  of 
superstitious,  cowering  slaves,  and  to  whom  she  herself 
felt  compelled  to  pay  unwilling  obeisance ! 

By  recommendation  of  Mr.  Butterworth  she  spent 
several  weeks  in  Cheltenham,  for  the  benefit  of  its 
mineral  waters.  She  also  accepted  a  pressing  invita- 
tion to  visit  Scotland,  with  all  her  expenses  defrayed, 
and  there  she  passed  several  weeks  in  the  enjoyment 
of  the  best  Christian  hospitality.  She  was  greatly 
built  up,  in  body  and  in  soul,  by  the  attentions  received 
in  Great  Britain.  "Often  has  she  mentioned,"  says  a 
friend,  "  with  the  brightest  glow  of  affection,  the  high- 
toned  piety  ot  English  and  Scottish  Christians,  and  the 


A   MEMORIAL.  II9 

prelibations  of  heaven,  which  she  enjoj^ed  in  their 
society." 

While  in  Scotland  she  received  a  request  from  the 
Board  in  America  to  proceed  in  her  journey  by  the 
packet  bound  to  New  York.  She  accordingly  went  to 
lyiverpool  for  embarkation,  and  there  was  persuaded 
to  take  a  more  commodious  vessel,  by  a  number  of 
Liverpool  ladies  who  generously  defrayed  the  expense 
of  her  passage,  and  on  August  i6,  1822,  about  one 
year  from  the  time  of  leaving  the  shores  of  Burmah, 
she  again  set  her  face  toward  the  setting  sun.  She 
had  an  escort  for  about  fifty  miles,  consisting  of  two 
gentlemen  and  three  ladies,  and  after  their  return  she 
was  alone  on  the  great  deep,  committed  to  her  thoughts 
and  to  her  God.  There  was  not  a  lady  on  board  with 
whom  she  could  converse,  yet  how  entertaining  were 
the  thoughts  of  her  new  friends  "who  had  become 
inexpressibly  endeared  to  her  by  many  valuable  pres- 
ents and  innumerable  acts  of  kindness!"  Yes,  and 
the  forward  look!  "The  next  land  I  tread,"  she  says, 
"  will  be  my  own  native  soil,  ever-loved  America,  the 
land  of  my  birth.  I  cannot  realize  that  I  shall  ever 
again  find  myself  in  my  own  dear  home  at  Bradford, 
amid  the  scenes  of  my  early  3^outh,  where  every  spot 
is  associated  with  some  tender  recollection.  But  the 
constant  idea  that  my  dear  J.  is  not  a  participator  of 
my  joys  will  mar  them  all." 

Such  were  the  refle(ftions,  in  part,  indulged  imme- 
diately after  bidding  her  friends  farewell,  in  the  offing 
at  Liverpool.  Traveling  around  the  globe  in  those 
days,  with  the  partings  going  before,  and  the  greetings 
coming  after,  had  a  far  deeper  significance  than  it  ij^X 


I20  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

now.  It  was  not  a  girl's  vacation  tour,  and  it  required 
a  woman  intent  on  some  great  end  to  navigate  the 
high  seas,  at  the  risk  of  her  life,  and  with  separations 
that  involved  a  possible  and  irreparable  loss  to  every 
earthly  friend.  The  inviting  sails  often  spread  their 
wings  to  reluctant  breezes,  and  the  calm  which  now 
delights  the  steamer  saddened  the  ship.  Time  length- 
ened the  miles  and  protracted  the  journey  and  its 
perils.  It  was  something  for  Mrs.  Judson  to  double 
the  hemisphere  in  the  early  part  of  the  century,  and 
that,  too,  in  a  very  circuitous  way,  and  with  a  decade 
of  hardships  intervening,  but  it  has  now  been  done, 
and  the  Amity,  five  weeks  from  lyiverpool,  brings  her 
safely  back  to  her  own  shores. 


A    MEMORIAL.  121 


X. 

^nx^vUa—s//i7T  IN. 

Great  God,  we  thauk  thee  for  this  home — 
This  bounteous  birthland  of  the  free  ; 

Where  wanderers  from  afar  may  come, 
And  breathe  the  air  of  liberty ! 

Wii,i,iAM  J.  Pabodie. 

Thou  art  like  night,  O  Sickness !  deeply  stilling 
Within  my  heart  the  world's  disturbing  sound. 

And  the  dim  quiet  of  my  chamber  filling 

With  low,  sweet  voices,  by  life's  tumult  drown'd. 

Mrs.  Hemans. 

u  ^T^HE  visit  of  Mrs.  Judson  to  the  United  States 
-^  forms  an  epoch  of  no  inconsiderable  impor- 
tance in  the  progress  of  interest  in  missions,  among 
the  churches  of  various  denominations  in  this  coun- 
try."—  (Gamme//.)  She  had  three  ends  to  attain:  — 
health,  promotion  of  missions,  and  the  visitation  of 
friends.  The  first  was  supreme,  and  no  other  could 
have  induced  the  return ;  and  so  soon  as  it  seemed  to 
be  assured,  or  whenever  it  was  such  as  to  admit  of 
anything  beyond  its  care,  she  was  ready  to  undertake 
some  labor  for  the  cause  to  which  her  life  was  pledged. 
Then,  when  it  appeared  to  be  compatible  with  both  of 
the  above,  not  involving  the  neglect  of  either  health  or 
missionary  interests,  the  friends  of  her  heart  were  per- 
mitted to  share  her  attentions,  and  to  repay  her  in  that 


122  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

thoughtful  kindness  so  grateful  to  her  feelings  and  so 
important  to  her  complete  recovery.  She  was  the  first 
woman  missionary  to  make  her  return  to  America. 
The  cause  of  foreign  missions  was  in  its  infancy,  and 
the  "  little  one "  created  more  attention,  relatively, 
than  the  same  now  does  in  its  manhood.  She  must 
be  seen  and  heard. 

Arriving  at  New  York  harbor  September  25,  1822, 
she  ascertained  that  the  yellow  fever  was  prevailing  on 
shore,  and  felt  that  prudence  forbade  her  landing.  Ac- 
cordingly she  proceeded  to  Philadelphia,  where  she  ar- 
rived on  the  27th.  It  was  her  intention  to  pass  a  week 
here,  and  then  go  to  Providence,  and  from  there  to  her 
husband's  and  her  own  home.  But  she  immediately 
encountered  the  great  Dr.  Wm.  Staughton,  at  that 
time  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Board,  who 
wished  her  to  go  on  to  Washington ;  and  by  com- 
plying with  this  request,  of  importance  to  the  cause, 
she  was  detained  in  that  part  of  the  country  for  some 
days  longer.  While  in  Philadelphia,  where,  less  than 
nine  years  previously,  the  Triennial  Convention 
was  organized,  having  been  brought  into  existence 
through  the  emergency  created  by  the  change  of 
relations  of  herself  and  her  husband,  and  of  which 
theirs  were  the  first  appointments,  she  had  opportu- 
nity to  meet  some  of  the  noble  souls  who  came  to 
their  relief,  and  w^ere  then  moving  right  on,  "  attempt- 
ing great  things  for  God,  and  expecting  great  things 
from  God."  To  meet  Dr.  Staughton  was  to  feel  the 
pulsings  of  the  great  soul  which  had  thus  far  been 
known  to  her  only  through  his  letters.  And  sermons 
from  the  men  who  had  the  care  of  missions,  heard  in 
her  own  country,  was  a  luxury  to  be  remembered. 


A  me:moriai,.  123 

After  a  short  stay  in  Philadelphia,  she  hastened  to  meet 
her  parents  and  friends  in  Bradford.  Here,  in  the  bosom  of 
her  native  home,  she  had  hoped  so  far  to  regain  her  health 
as  to  be  enabled  to  embark  again  for  Burmah  early  in  the 
ensuing  spring.  But  the  excitement  of  feeling  produced  by 
this  visit  to  the  scenes  and  the  friends  of  her  childhood,  and 
the  exhaustion  of  strength,  resulting  from  the  necessity  of 
meeting  and  conversing  with  numerous  visitors,  added  to  the 
effect  of  the  cold  climate  of  New  England  on  a  constitution 
so  long  accustomed  to  the  tropical  heat  of  Burmah,  obliged 
her  to  leave  Bradford,  after  a  stay  of  six  weeks,  and  spend  the 
winter  in  Baltimore.— A«t?z£//^^. 

The  above  is  a  correct  interpretation  of  her  own 
words,  as  found  in  her  correspondence.  Having  has- 
tened from  Bradford,  we  find  the  following  statement 
of  this  somewhat  remarkable  case  in  one  of  her  early 
letters  from  Baltimore : 

I  had  never  fully  counted  the  cost  of  a  visit  to  my  dear 
native  country  and  beloved  relatives.  I  did  not  expect  that  a 
scene  which  I  had  anticipated  as  so  joyous,  was  destined  to 
give  my  health  and  constitution  a  shock  which  would  require 
months  to  repair.  During  my  passage  from  England  my 
health  was  most  perfect ;  not  the  least  symptom  of  my  orig- 
inal disorder  remained.  But  from  the  day  of  my  arrival,  the 
idea  that  I  was  once  more  on  American  ground  banished  all 
peace  and  quiet  from  my  mind,  and  for  the  first  four  days  and 
nights  I  never  closed  my  eyes  to  sleep !  This  circumstance, 
together  with  dwelling  on  my  anticipated  meeting  with  my 
friends,  occasioned  the  most  alarming  apprehensions.  Still, 
however,  I  flattered  myself,  that  after  my  first  meeting  with 
my  friends  was  over,  I  should  gradually  recover  my  compos- 
ure, and  hastened  my  departure  for  the  eastward.  I  reached 
my  father's  in  about  a  fortnight  after  my  arrival  in  this  coun- 
try— and  had  not  been  able  to  procure  a  single  night's  sleep. 
The  scene  which  ensued  brought  my  feelings  to  a  crisis,  na- 
ture was  quite  exhausted,  and  I  began  to  fear  I  would  sink.    I 


124  ANN   H.   JUDSON. 

was  kept  in  a  state  of  constant  excitement,  by,  daily  meeting 
with  my  old  friends  and  acquaintances ;  and  during  the  whole 
six  weeks  of  my  residence  at  my  father's  I  had  not  one  quiet 
night's  rest.  I  felt  the  cold  most  severely,  and  found  as  that 
increased,  my  cough  increased. 

Dr.  Klnathan  Judson,  her  husband's  only  brother, 
a  physician  of  some  repute,  under  the  government,  re- 
sided in  Baltimore,  and  he  induced  Mrs.  Judson  to  sub- 
mit to  his  treatment  in  a  course  of  salivation,  insisting 
that  should  she,  with  her  Indian  constitution,  salivate 
at  the  North,  the  most  dangerous  consequences  would 
ensue.  The  remedy  proposed  was  in  common  use  in 
that  day,  and  was  one  to  which  she  had  inured  her 
system  in  India.  She  shut  herself  in,  hoping  that 
freedom  from  company  and  a  diligent  application  of 
the  means  v/ould  bring  about  the  desired  result.  This 
necessary  seclusion  in  her  own  land,  was,  in  itself,  an 
unexpected  form  of  self-denial  which  could  have  been 
endured  only  under  the  recognition  of  her  supreme 
duty  to  herself,  for  the  sake  of  the  Burman  mission. 
Every  hour  thus  spent  was  a  felt  loss  at  home  and  a 
hoped-for  gain  abroad,  not  to  mention  the  bodity  suf- 
fering continually  experienced.  The  surprise  is  that 
the  consciousness  of  this  deprivation  of  her  friends  in 
their  very  midst,  and  of  its  possible  continuance  for  a 
considerable  part  of  the  period  allotted  for  her  stay  in 
the  country,  evidently  never  to  be  visited  again,  did 
not  of  itself  aggravate  her  disease  by  creating  nervous- 
ness of  a  serious  character.  If  ever  a  woman  needed 
grace  she  needed  it  at  that  time.  Yet  to  self-denial 
she  had  been  accustomed,  and  to  compulsory  destitu- 
tion of  society  in  a  foreign  land  she  could  add  a  short 


A   MKMORIAI..  125 

lesson  of  solitude  in  her  own  country,  hard  and  ill- 
timed  as  it  was. 

But,  while  in  the  judgment  of  the  observer  at  least, 
nothing  could  have  been  better  for  Mrs.  Judson,  under 
ordinary  circumstances,  than  entire  freedom  to  enjoy 
her  friends  during  her  brief  respite,  yet  the  situation 
had  its  compensations,  and  she,  with  an  eye  practiced 
to  observe  Providential  ways  in  all  things,  was  the 
person  to  discover  them.  In  one  of  her  letters  she 
takes  pains  to  say:  "The  retired  life  I  now  lead  is 
much  more  congenial  to  my  feelings,  and  much  more 
favorable  to  religious  enjoyment,  than  when  in  Eng- 
land and  America,  where  I  was  kept  in  a  continual 
bustle  of  company.  Yes,  it  is  in  retirement  that  our 
languishing  graces  are  revived,  our  affections  raised  to 
God,  and  our  souls  refreshed  and  quickened  by  the 
influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit." 

Besides,  while  in  her  "  old  employment  of  taking 
mercury,"  thoughts  of  Burmah  and  the  "wan  reaper" 
there  possessed  her  mind  for  the  most  of  the  time. 
And  being  under  promise  to  Mr.  Butterworth,  of  Lon- 
don, to  write  a  succinct  account  of  the  Burman  Mis- 
sion, for  publication,  she  also  gave  considerable  atten- 
tion to  this  work,  which  she  commenced  while  on  her 
passage  from  England.  She  found  much  pleasure  in 
the  consideration  that  she  should  thus  be  able  to  give 
to  her  friends,  not  only  in  England,  but  in  America  as 
well,  that  information  relative  to  the  Burman  Empire 
which,  in  her  state  of  health,  she  could  not  verbally 
communicate.  The  work  gave  an  account  of  the 
American  Baptist  Mission  to  Burmah — its  origin,  prog- 
ress, and  success;  consisting  principally  in  a  compi- 


126  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

lation  of  those  letters  and  documents  transmitted  to 
friends  in  America,  interspersed  with  accounts  of  the 
population,  manners,  and  customs  of  the  Burmans.  It 
evinces  a  clear  understanding  and  excellent  taste  in 
the  writer.  The  copyright  was  presented  to  the  Con- 
vention. It  is  believed  to  have  been  very  useful  in 
enlightening  the  people  as  to  the  state  of  things  in 
India,  and  the  e very-day  life,  trials,  and  triumphs  of 
the  missionaries,  and,  thus,  in  awakening  interest  in 
missions.  An  edition  was  issued  in  Great  Britain 
entitled,  "An  account  of  the  American  Baptist  Mis- 
sion to  the  Burman  Empire:  In  a  Series  of  lyctters, 
addressed  to  a  gentleman  in  lyondon."  It  was  pub- 
lished in  London  by  J.  Butterworth  and  Son,  and  in 
Edinburgh  by  T.  Clark,  A.  D.  1823. 

As  the  winter  wore  away,  Mrs.  Judson's  health 
gave  alternate  symptoms  of  improvement  and  decline. 
At  length  the  disease  of  the  liver  appeared  to  be 
removed,  but  the  disease  of  the  lungs  became  more 
malignant,  and  for  this  she  had  submitted  to  exhaustive 
bleedings  at  the  arm.  The  reduction  of  the  system 
thus  experienced  prevented  her  early  return  to  New 
England.  An  hour's  ride  fatigued  her.  Her  labors 
on  the  Burman  history,  with  the  help  of  an  assistant 
copyist,  had  occupied  about  five  hours  a  day;  and 
though  entertaining,  in  her  seclusion,  they  were  never- 
theless exhausting.  Her  letters  during  the  winter 
breathed  the  deepest  anxieties  for  the  conversion  of 
souls;  scarcely  one,  in  preservation,  that  does  not 
express  a  longing  desire  for  revivals  in  the  churches. 
As  she  became  stronger  she  held  a  "little  female 
prayer    meeting"   in    her  chamber,  which  was  very 


A   MKMORIAL.  127 

precious.  News  came  from  Mr.  Judson  that  God  was 
doing  wonders  in  Rangoon;  five  more  had  been 
baptized,  making  eighteen  in  all,  and  of  the  number 
were  three  females  who  had  attended  her  Wednesday 
meeting,  and  had  now  established  a  female  prayer 
meeting.  Such  progress  was  wonderful — for  that  day. 
**Is  not  this  encouraging?"  she  writes.  And  later: 
"  I  long  to  be  in  Rangoon,  and  am  anxiously  hoping 
to  get  away  this  spring.  Do  make  inquiries  relative 
to  the  sailing  of  ships  from  Boston  and  Salem.  I 
must  not  miss  one  good  opportunity." 

It  was  now  the  middle  of  March,  and  although  she 
had  been  deprived  of  the  society  of  her  friends  during 
nearly  all  of  her  stay  in  the  country,  she  was  deter- 
mined to  sail  very  soon.  She  went  on  to  Washington, 
where  she  occupied  some  weeks  in  corre6ling  and  su- 
perintending the  proof  sheets  of  her  history.  While 
there  she  visited  Columbian  College  and  met  the  stu- 
dents in  a  prayer  meeting.  And  being  detained  South, 
through  fear  of  inability  to  endure  the  journey  to  Bos- 
ton, she  concluded  to  remain  longer  and  attend  the 
Triennial  Convention  to  be  held  in  that  city,  in  the 
hope  of  exciting  more  attention  to  the  subject  of  mis- 
sions. The  stay  was  quite  favorable  to  the  object. 
"The  Convention  appointed  a  committee  to  confer 
with  her  respe(5ling  the  Burman  Mission,  and  at  her 
suggestion  several  important  measures  were  adopted. 
Her  conversation  and  statements  produced,  on  the 
members  of  the  Convention,  the  same  effect  which  had 
resulted  from  her  intercourse  with  other  individuals 
since  her  arrival — a  deeper  concern  in  the  interests  of 
the  mission ;  a  more  lively  conviction  of  the  duty  of 


128  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

the  American  Baptist  churches  to  sustain  and  enlarge 
it ;  and  a  stronger  disposition  to  pray  for  its  prosperity 
and  to  contribute  liberally  for  its  support." — Knowles. 
About  this  time,  her  "  History  of  the  Burman  Mis- 
sion" was  published,  the  copyright  of  which  she  pre- 
sented to  the  Convention.  And,  besides,  to  the  great 
joy  of  her  heart,  Jonathan  Wade  and  his  wife  were 
designated  missionaries  to  Burmah,  and  were  instruc- 
ted to  sail  with  her. 

The  Convention  assembled  April  30,  1823,  and  after 
its  adjournment,  Mrs.  Judson  returned  to  Massachu- 
setts. Her  health  was  but  partially  restored,  and  she 
was  earnestly  besought  to  remain  in  the  country 
another  year ;  but  she  resisted  every  reason  presented 
and  prepared  to  take  a  second,  and,  as  she  was  con- 
vinced, a  final  farewell  of  her  friends  and  country. 
"  There  was  at  times,"  says  her  biographer,  "  an  al- 
most prophetic  foreboding  in  her  mind,  as  if  '  coming 
events  cast  their  shadows  before.'  But  she  resolved  to 
return,  whatever  might  be  the  will  of  God  respe(5ling 
the  mission  or  herself." 

She  negotiated  for  a  passage  on  the  ship  Edward 
Newton,  transacfling  the  business  both  for  herself  and 
for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wade,  and  securing  "  excellent,  clean 
and  airy"  accommodations  for  $1,200,  for  all.  She 
then  had  a  week  in  which  to  make  her  final  prepara- 
tions and  visit  her  friends,  subordinating  her  affec- 
tions, as  heretofore,  to  considerations  of  health.  "  I 
am  doubting,"  she  says,  "whether  I  ought  to  visit 
Bradford  again,  or  not.  My  nerves  are  in  such  a  state 
that  I  have  to  make  every  possible  exertion  to  keep 
them  quiet.     It  will  only  increase  my  agitation  to  take 


A   MEMORIAL.  129 

a  formal  leave  of  my  friends  and  home."  It  does  not 
appear  that  she  spent  more  than  the  first  period  of  six 
weeks  at  Bradford — and  those  weeks  of  sleeplessness 
and  suffering — notwithstanding  that  the  time  of  her 
absence  from  Rangoon  was  over  two  years  and  three 
months. 

On  Lord's  Day,  June  21,  1823,  they  went  on  Board  the 
ship  Edward  Newton,  Captain  Bertody.  They  were  accompa- 
nied by  a  large  concourse  of  Christian  friends  to  the  wharf, 
where  fervent  prayer,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Baldwin,  was  offered  up  to 
Him,  who  holds  the  winds  in  his  fist,  and  rules  the  boisterous 
deep.  The  parting  scene  was  peculiarly  tender  and  affecting 
to  many.  As  the  boat  moved  from  the  shore  towards  the  ship, 
at  the  particular  request  of  Mrs.  Wade,  the  company  united  in 
singing  the  favorite  hymn,  "From  whence  doth  this  union 
arise?"  The  missionary  friends  manifested  much  composure, 
as  they  receded  from  the  land  of  their  nativity,  probably 
never  more  to  return. — Knowles. 

Prof.  Gammell  forcibly  remarks : 

The  influence  which  Mrs.  Judsou  exerted  in  favor  of  the 
cause  of  missions  during  her  brief  residence  of  eight  or  nine 
months  in  the  United  States,  it  is  now  (1849)  hardly  possible  to 
estimate.  She  enlisted  more  fully  in  the  cause  not  a  few  lead- 
ing minds,  who  have  since  rendered  it  signal  service,  both  by 
eloquent  vindications,  and  by  judicious  counsels;  and  by  the 
appeals  which  she  addressed  to  Christians  of  her  own  sex,  and 
her  fervid  conversations  with  persons  of  all  classes  and  denom- 
inations in  America,  as  well  as  by  the  views  which  she  submit- 
ted to  the  managers  of  the  mission,  a  new  zeal  for  its  prosecu- 
tion was  everywhere  created,  and  the  missionary  enterprise, 
instead  of  being  regarded  with  doubt  and  misgiving,  as  it  had 
been  jy  many,  even  among  Christians,  began  to  be  understood 
in  its  higher  relations  to  all  the  hopes  of  man,  and  to  be  con- 
templated in  its  true  grandeur,  and  its  ennobling,  moral  dig- 
nity. 


130  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

Her  conversations  were  manifestly  limited  in  num- 
ber, on  account  of  her  illness;  but  that  they  were 
"fervid"  no  one  can  doubt;  the  era  of  missions  bears 
testimony.  Her  character  was  not  demonstrative  but 
potent.  She  wanted  her  favorite  topic  introduced, 
then  she  was  all  aglow^ ;  as  an  interesting  and  influen- 
tial woman  she  had  few  superiors.  A  biographer  of 
Mr.  Judson  makes  the  following  complimentary  refer- 
ence to  her : 

It  was  my  good  fortune  to  become  intimately  acquainted 
with  Mrs.  Judson  during  this  visit  to  the  United  States.  I  do 
not  remember  ever  to  have  met  a  more  remarkable  woman. 
To  great  clearness  of  intellect,  large  powers  of  comprehen- 
sion, and  intuitive  female  sagacity,  ripened  by  the  constant 
necessity  of  independent  action,  she  added  that  heroic  dis- 
interestedness which  naturally  loses  all  consciousness  of  self 
in  the  prosecution  of  a  great  object.  These  elements,  how- 
ever, were  all  held  in  reserve,  and  were  hidden  from  public 
view  by  a  veil  of  unusual  feminine  delicacy.  To  an  ordinary 
observer  she  would  have  appeared  simply  a  self-possessed, 
well-bred,  and  very  intelligent  gentlewoman.  A  more  inti- 
mate acquaintance  would  soon  discover  her  to  be  a  person 
of  profound  religious  feeling,  which  was  ever  manifesting 
itself  in  efforts  to  impress  upon  others  the  importance  of 
personal  piety.  The  resources  of  her  nature  were  never 
unfolded  until  some  occasion  occurred  which  demanded 
delicate  tadl,  unflinching  courage,  and  a  power  of  resolute 
endurance  even  unto  death.  When  I  saw  her,  her  complexion 
bore  that  sallow  hue  which  commonly  follows  residence  in 
the  East  Indies.  Her  countenance  at  first  seemed,  when 
in  repose,  deficient  in  expression.  As  she  found  herself 
among  her  friends  who  were  interested  in  the  Burman 
Mission,  her  reserve  melted  awa}^  her  eye  kindled,  every 
feature  was  lighted  up  with  enthusiasm,  and  she  was  every- 
where acknowledged  to  be  one  of  the  most  fascinating 
of  women. — Dr.  Francis  Waylaiid. 


A   MEMORIAL.  13! 

XI. 

^iye    ^tixxxn— AUXILIARIES— A VA. 

Home,  kindred,  friends,  and  country — these 
Are  things  with  which  we  never  part; 
From  clime  to  clime,  o'er  land  and  seas. 
We  bear  them  with  us  in  our  heart; 
And  yet!   'tis  hard  to  be  resigned, 
When  we  must  leave  them  all  behind! 

Montgomery— "  i^ar^zt'^//  to  a  Missionary:' 

ON  June  22,  1823,  the  Edward  Newton  weighed 
anchor  at  Boston,  with  its  precious  charge — the 
"  sallow^-hued "  servant  of  Christ,  hastening  back  to 
her  loved  emplo3%  and  the  two  recruits  for  the  same 
service.  "They  bore  with  them,"  says  Professor 
Gammell,  "a  letter  to  the  Emperor  of  Burmah,  and 
a  valuable  present  from  the  Convention,  such  as  was 
thought  to  be  fitted  to  excite  the  interest  of  his 
Bur  man  majesty,  and  to  conciliate  his  favor  towards 
the  missionaries."  It  will  naturally  occur  to  the 
reader  to  inquire  how  a  body  that  sends  out  its  am- 
bassadors bearing  gifts,  can  offer  any  strictures  on 
the  course  of  Messrs.  Judson  and  Colman  in  going 
with  gifts  to  the  King  for  essentially  the  same  pur- 
pose— viz.,  protection.  The  little  company  arrived  at 
Calcutta,  October  19th,  and  at  Rangoon  December  5th, 
same  year. 


132  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

The  period  of  Mrs.  Judson's  absence,  a  little  more 
than  two  years  and  three  months,  was  characterized 
by  activity  in  the  mission.  For  nearly  four  months 
Mr.  Judson  was  entirely  alone.  But  though  his  sym- 
pathetic nature  was  unsatisfied,  for  want  of  congenial 
society,  he  was  none  the  less  faithful  to  his  work.  He 
had  made  up  his  mind,  he  says,  "to  have  his  right  arm 
amputated,  and  his  right  eye  extracted,  which  the 
doctors  said  were  necessary  in  order  to  prevent  a  decay 
and  mortification  of  the  whole  body  conjugal."  The 
nature  that  is  charac5lerized  by  such  strong  sympathies 
is  one  that  is  not  only  keenly  alive  to  even  temporary 
bereavement  but  ^likewise  is  adapted  to  the  kind  of 
work  he  took  upon  his  hands  and  heart.  The  long 
separations,  already  several  times  borne,  and  the  long 
intervals  of  silence  by  which  they  were  aggravated, 
did  not  dull  the  sense  of  mutual  reliance,  certainly  not 
his ;  and  yet  it  was  his  joy  to  labor  alone,  rather  than 
that  labor  should  not  be  performed.  Early  in  Decem- 
ber, Rev.  Jonathan  Price,  M.  D.,  a  missionary  physician, 
arrived  with  his  wife ;  and  in  January  following  Mr. 
Hough  and  his  family  returned  from  Calcutta,  making 
quite  a  family  in  the  mission. 

The  direction  of  Mr.  Judson's  labors  during  the 
above  period  was  not  essentially  changed;  he  had 
reached  the  proper  course,  and  he  aimed  to  follow  it, 
viz. :  do  all  the  teaching  and  preaching  at  all  admissi- 
ble under  the  government,  as  the  Scripture  method  of 
evangelization,  and  meantime,  especially  during  inter- 
ruptions of  such  labor,  push  the  work  of  translation. 
He  was  successful  in  both.  Several  were  added  to  the 
little  mission  church,  greatly    rejoicing  the   heart    of 


A    MEMORIAL.  1 33 

Mrs.  Judson  in  America,  who  was  "  well  acquainted 
with  the  name  of  every  one,"  and  causing  her  to  be 
impatient  to  start  back.  On  her  arrival  she  was 
greeted  not  only  by  a  glad  husband,  who  had  not  re- 
ceived a  word  of  intelligence  from  her  for  ten  months, 
but  likewise  by  a  happy  church  of  eighteen,  with  a 
New  Testament  in  Burmese.  This  pleasant  and  en- 
couraging state  of  affairs  had  "  its  sorrow,  too,"  con- 
sequent on  the  death  of  one  of  the  native  Christians, 
Moung  Thahlah,  and  also  the  death  of  Mrs.  Price, 
which  occurred  in  less  than  five  months  from  the  time 
of  her  arrival.  The  former  was  called  away  after  an 
illness  of  nineteen  hours,  and  was  insensible  before 
Mr.  Judson  was  informed  in  reference  to  him ;  the  lat- 
ter was  "peaceful  and  happy  in  the  prospect  of  death," 
and  was  buried  by  the  side  of  Mrs.  Judson's  "  little 
Roger."* 

Dr.  Price  at  once  commenced  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine in  Rangoon.  His  profession  immediately  drew 
attention  to  him,  the  healing  art  being  wonderfully 
adapted  to  awaken  superstitious  minds,  and  to  put 
them  into  either  awe,  or  fear  of  him  who  practices 
it.  His  success  in  several  operations,  particularly  on 
the  eyes  of  those  suffering  from  cataract,  was  noised 
abroad,  and,  very  naturally,  was  reported  to  the  Em- 
peror, who  took  special  cognizance  of  every  semblance 

="^Dr.  Price  married  a  native,  as  his  second  wife.  In  the  practice  of  his 
profession  he  had  treated  her  eyes,  and,  though  very  skillful,  as  skill  was 
reckoned  in  his  day,  he  had  made  a  failure  of  the  case,  and  she  lost  her 
sight.  By  a  peculiar  dictate  of  conscience  he  then  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to 
marry  her.  A  recent  traveler,  searching  through  the  old  cemetery  at 
Ava,  found  her  tomb-stone,  containing  an  elaborate  inscription,  in  both 
E)nglish  and  Burmese. 


134  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 

of  power  over  the  bodies  of  his  subjedls.  An  order 
was  at  once  given  for  Brother  Price  to  appear  before 
the  Golden  Face,  at  the  capital.  Obedience  was  per- 
emptory. And  it  was  necessary  that  Mr.  Judson  ac- 
company him,  as  an  interpreter,  and  as  an  aid  to  him 
in  going  through  the  formalities  of  the  Court.  And 
while  he  had  no  pleasant  associations  of  Ava  to  carry 
in  his  memory,  he  thought  there  might  be  a  remaining 
possibility  of  making  some  favorable  impressions  on 
the  monarch,  through  the  "medicine  man." 

They  dropped  their  work  at  Rangoon,  and,  taking 
passage  in  a  boat  furnished  at  the  government's  ex- 
pense, they  reached  Ava  in  thirt}-  days,  and  presented 
themselves  at  the  palace.  Dr.  Price  received  special 
attention,  and  Mr.  Judson  no  attention,  at  first,  except 
as  interpreter.  The  King  ordered  a  house  (a  shed) 
erected  for  his  visitors,  and  they  went  to  see  him  each 
morning.  But,  afterward,  Mr.  JudvSon  obtained  a  lot, 
pleasantly  situated  about  a  mile  from  the  palace,  and 
there  built  a  small  house;  it  being  insisted  by  the 
disposer,  who  declined  to  receive  pa}^  that  the  owner- 
ship of  the  ground  remained  with  him  if  they  should 
cease  to  occupy  it,  "  lest  it  become  American  territory." 
There  seemed  to  be  an  apprehension  that  the  Ameri- 
can government  might  undertake  to  establish  jurisdic- 
tion there,  as  the  English  had  done  in  Bengal. 

After  about  four  months  of  visitation  at  the  royal 
court,  Mr.  Judson  deemed  it  necessary  to  return  to 
Rangoon,  but  Dr.  Price  remained,  by  special  desire  of 
the  Emperor,  who  aided  him  in  building  a  house.  The 
''medical  man"  was  in  high  favor  with  all  the  authori- 
ties, and  Mr.  Judson  somewhat  more  so  than  previ- 


A   ME^MORIAL.  135 

ously,  on  account  of  his  assistance  to  Dr.  P.  in  his 
presentations  at  Court,  and  the  interest  he  had  created 
in  religious  investigations.  He  felt  hopeful  as  to  the 
planting  of  a  church  at  Ava.  He  returned,  with  the 
assurance  of  the  Prince,  a  half-brother  to  the  King,  to 
whom  and  to  whose  wife  he  had  communicated  much 
truth  respedling  the  Christian  religion,  that  "though 
the  King  would  not  himself  persecute  any  one  on 
account  of  religion,  he  would  not  give  any  order 
exempting  from  persecution,  but  would  leave  his  sub- 
jects throughout  the  Empire  to  the  regular  administra- 
tion of  the  local  authorities."  And  the  King  expressed 
a  desire  that  he  should  return.  Thus  encouraged,  and 
with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hough,  and,  prospectively,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Wade  at  Rangoon,  he  decided  to  remove  to  Ava 
as  soon  as  Mrs.  Judson  should  arrive ;  and  he  began 
to  make  preparations  therefor. 

Ten  months  passed  away,  however,  from  the  date 
of  his  arrival  from  Ava  to  that  of  hers  from  America. 
This  period  was  one  of  great  activity  on  his  part.  The 
little  church  had  been  somewhat  scattered  by  the  ex- 
tortions and  persecutions  of  the  government,  and  re- 
quired much  attention.  Then  the  translation  of  the 
New  Testament  was  resumed  with  great  earnestness 
and  brought  to  completion.  He  also  prepared,  as  an 
introduction  to  it,  a  Summary  of  Scripture  History 
and  an  abstra(5l  of  the  prophecies  of  the  Messiah  and 
His  Kingdom,  all  of  which  were  received  with  the  ut- 
most eagerness  by  the  native  Christians. 

On  December  5,  1823,  Mrs.  Judson,  with  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Wade,  reached  Rangoon,  giving  Mr.  Judson  "  in- 
expressible happiness."     They  found  him  in  a  state  of 


136  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

readiness  to  depart  for  Ava,  and  in  eight  days  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Jiidson  were  on  their  way  to  the  capital,  full  of 
hope  and  courage.  It  was  a  trial  -to  them  to  leave  the 
scenes  of  their  ten  3^ears'  toil,  just  at  the  opening  of 
their  prospect  under  a  translated  Gospel,  with  a  little 
grave  behind  them,  and  also  the  first-born  of  their 
spiritual  sorrows  and  joys — a  Burman  church.  But 
they  were  flattered  with  the  new  prospecft,  that  of  es- 
tablishing another  light,  even  at  the  capital  of  the  Em- 
pire, which  should  irradiate  the  gloom  to  a  greater  ex- 
tent. It  had  been  written  to  them  by  Dr.  Price  that 
the  King  had  often  spoken  of  Mr.  Judson,  and  had  in- 
quired why  he  delayed  his  return ;  also  that  the  Queen 
had  expressed  a  strong  desire  to  see  Mrs.  Judson  in 
her  foreign  dress.  Such  circumstances,  added  to  tht 
increasing  favor  enjoyed  during  the  sojourn  at  Ava, 
tended  to  build  up  their  hopes. 

The  passage  up  the  Irrawaddy  proved  to  be  tedious 
and  uncomfortable,  occupying  six  weeks.  The  cur- 
rent was  strong  and  the  wind  against  them.  The  boat 
was  small  and  came  near  being  capsized  in  one  of  the 
rapids.  Its  progress  was  so  slow  that  they  often 
w^alked  on  the  bank  in  advance  of  it,  apparently  for 
relief  from  the  tedium,  and  to  do  a  little  good.  They 
"always  attra(5led  universal  attention,"  says  Mrs.  Jud- 
son, but  "  never  received  the  least  insult.  A  foreign 
female  was  a  sight  never  before  beheld,  and  all  were 
anxious  that  their  friends  and  relatives  should  have  a 
view.  Crowds  followed  us  through  the  villages,  and 
some  who  were  less  civilized  than  others  would  run 
some  way  before  us,  in  order  to  have  a  long  look  as  we 
approached   them.     In   one   instance,  the   boat   being 


A   MEMORIAL.  137 

some  time  in  doubling  a  point  we  had  walked  over,  we 
seated    ourselves,    when    the   villagers    as   usual    as- 
sembled and  Mr.  Judson  introduced  the  subject  of  re- 
ligion.    Several  old  men  who  were   present   entered 
into  conversation,  while  the  multitude  was  all  atten- 
tion.    The  apparent  school-master  of  the  village  com- 
ing up,  Mr.  J.  handed  him  a  tract  and  requested  him 
to  read.     After  proceeding  some  way,  he  remarked  to 
the  assembl}^  that  such  a  writing  was  worth}^  of  being 
copied,  and  asked  Mr.  J.  to  remain  while  he  copied  it." 
The  tradl  was  given  to  him  on  condition  that  he  read 
it   to   all   his    neighbors;  and   the}^  parted  with  him, 
hoping  that  the  Spirit  of  God  would  prosper  the  few 
simple   truths   it   contained  to  the  salvation  of  some 
souls.     And  why  should  they  not  hope  that  the  Em- 
pire was  about  to  open  to  the  bearers  of  the  Cross  ? 
Life  in  an  untried  place,  another  heathen  city,  was 
now   to   begin.      The  domestic  arrangements   were  a 
matter   of  great   interest    to   Mrs.   Judson,  especially. 
She  was  by  no  means  in  sound  health,  and  a  comfort- 
able home  is  to  a  woman,  sick  or  well,  a  thing  highly 
desirable.     Missionary    life    in   the   earlier   days   was 
almost  wholly   without   assurance    of    a    home,    even 
when  one  had  been  established;  and  at  this  day  the 
environments  of  a  dwelling,  elevated  on  stilts,  to  keep 
clear  of  diseases  and  creeping  things,  are  such  as  to 
cause  American  women  to  feel  like  fleeing  the  coun- 
try.    Mrs.  Judson  thus  speaks  of  her  introduction  to 
home-life  in  the  capital : 

On  our  arrival  at  Ava,  we  had  more  -difficulties  to  en- 
counter, and  such  as  we  had  never  before  experienced.  We 
had  no  home,  no  house  to  shelter  us  from  the  burning  sun 


138  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

by  day  and  the  cold  dews  at  night.  Dr.  Price  had  kindly 
met  us  on  the  way,  and  urged  our  taking  up  our  residence 
with  him ;  but  his  house  was  in  such  an  unfinished  state, 
and  the  walls  so  damp  (of  brick,  and  just  built)  that  spend- 
ing two  or  three  hours  threw  me  into  a  fever,  and  induced 
me  to  feel  that  it  would  be  presumption  to  remain  longer. 
We  had  but  one  alternative,  to  remain  in  the  boat  till  we 
could  build ,  a  small  house  on  the  spot  of  ground  which  the 
King  gave  Mr.  Judson  last  year.  And  you  will  hardly  be- 
lieve it  possible,  for  I  almost  doubt  my  senses,  that  in  just 
a  fortnight  from  our  arrival  we  moved  into  a  house  built 
in  that  time,  and  which  is  sufficiently  large  to  make  us 
comfortable.  It  is  in  a  most  delightful  situation,  out  of  the 
dust  of  the  town,  and  on  the  bank  of  the  river.  The  spot 
of  ground  given  by  His  Majesty  is  small,  being  only  one 
hundred  and  twenty  feet  long  and  seventy-five  wide;  but  it 
is  our  own,  and  is  the  most  healthy  situation  I  have  seen. 
Our  house  is  raised  four  feet  from  the  ground,  and  consists 
of  three  small  rooms  and  a  veranda. 

I  hardly  know  how  we  shall  bear  the  hot  season,  which 
is  just  commencing,  as  our  house  is  built  of  boards,  and 
before  night  is  heated  like  an  oven.  Nothing  but  brick  is 
a  shelter  from  the  heat  of  Ava,  where  the  thermometer, 
even  in  the  shade,  frequently  rises  to  a  hundred  and  eight 
degrees. 

An  event  of  significance  to  the  cause  of  missions 
is  narrated  by  Prof.  Gammell : 

In  a  few  months  after  the  return  of  the  missionaries  to 
Ava,  the  government  was  formally  removed,  with  great  pomp 
and  ceremony,  to  that  city.  The  King  and  the  Royal  Family, 
who  for  two  years  had  been  living  at  Ava,  in  order  to  super- 
intend the  erection  of  a  new  palace,  about  the  time  of  Mr. 
Judson's  return,  went  back  to  Amarapura,  for  the  purpose  of 
making  the  transfer  of  the  Golden  Presence  from  one  city  to 
the  other,  as  striking  and  impressive  as  possible.  The  cere- 
monial was  one  of  unusual  splendor  and  magnificence,  and 


A   MEMORIAI..  139 

presented  a  scene  well  calculated  to  fill  the  imagination  with 
the  subliruest  conceptions  of  Oriental  grandeur  and  wealth. 
*  -:•;■  -;•:-  *  'j^jjg  missionaries,  with  a  few  European  residents 
at  the  capiwl,  gazed  with,  wonder  on  this  unwonted  display  of 
grotesque  magnificence,  made  to  gratify  the  pride  of  the  Bur- 
man  monaich.  They  were  not  noticed  by  the  royal  pair,  and 
although  Mr.  Judson  occasionally  visited  the  palace,  yet  no 
inquiry  was  ever  made  for  the  female  teacher  whom  the  queen 
had  formally  expressed  her  desire  to  see  in  her  foreign  dress. 
It  was  not  long  before  an  order  was  issued  that  no  European 
should  enter  the  palace,  and  in  a  few  days  afterwards  the  tid- 
ings of  tne  approaching  war,  wjiich  had  hitherto  been  brought 
only  in  uncertain  rumors,  were  fully  confirmed  by  intelligence 
that  an  English  fleet  had  arrived  in  the  river,  and  that  Ran- 
goon had  already  fallen  into  their  hands. 

Thus,  while  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson  were  as  yet 
scarcely  settled,  the  cloud  of  war  gathered  in  their 
sky,  portentous  of  interruption  to.  their  work,  and 
bringing  sullenness  over  the  Golden  Face.  The  im- 
mediate cause  of  it  was  the  mutual  jealousy  of  the 
English  and  Burmese  powers  respecting  the  province 
of  Chittagong,  which  appears  on  the  map  as  coast  ter- 
ritory on  the  upper  and  eastern  part  of  the  bay  of 
Bengal.  It  was  in  the  hands  of  the  English,  and  was 
made  a  resort  of  criminals  escaping  the  Burman  law. 
The  King  of  Burmah  wished  to  vindicate  his  dignity 
and  proceeded  to  raise  a  large  army  under  his  greatest 
warrior,  Bandoola,  for  the  purpose  of  moving  against 
the  governor-general ;  but  the  latter  proved  more 
prompt,  and  the  English  transports,  under  Sir  Archi- 
bald Campbell,  suddenly  appeared  before  Rangoon 
and  made  it  an  easy  prey.  The  Burman  King  taught 
to  think  his  power  greater  than  that  of  any  other 
nation  on  the  earth,  made  fool-hardy  ventures  against 


140  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

the  invader,  but  was  constantly  though  slowty  re- 
pulsed and  exhausted,  until  at  the  end  of  about  two 
years  from  the  commencement  of  hostilities,  and  fear- 
ing the  advancing  foe  would  reach  and  reduce  the  cap- 
ital itself,  he  accepted  terms  of  peace,  after  refusing  re- 
peated overtures,  and  at  a  loss  of  much  of  his  territory. 
The  golden  fetters  sent  for  the  important  service  of 
binding  the  governor-general,  and  in  which  he  was  to 
have  been  brought  to  the  Golden  Feet  at  Ava,  were  not 
needed  ;  neither  did  the  general  commissioned  to  bring 
back  some  white  strangers  to  row  the  boats  and  man- 
age the  horses  of  other  officials,  make  the  desired 
returns. 

The  period  in  the  life  of  Mrs.  Judson  now  to  be 
reviewed  is  one  of  the  most  tragic  in  the  history  of 
women.  It  was  fraught  with  more  experience  than 
it  is  ordinarily  possible  for  a  woman  to  pass  through 
in  an  equal  length  of  time.  The  scenes  and  circum- 
stances included  in  it  have  been  regarded  worthy  of 
detailed  record  in  the  missionary  annals  of  the  world, 
and  as  having  a  bearing  on  the  progress  of  Christen- 
dom and  the  advancement  of  mankind.  They  have 
been  presented,  in  nearly  every  instance  of  their 
publication,  in  the  exact  form  in  which  she  and  those 
participating  in  them  or  in  any  way  related  to  them 
originally  gave  them  to  the  public — in  letters,  jour- 
nals, and  testimonials.  These  documents  are  clear 
and  explicit,  being  written  in  terse  and  expressive 
language,  while  they  are  in  harmony  with  each  other. 
But  there  are  incidents  and  circumstances  revealed 
by  one  which  motives  of  modesty  or  other  consider- 
ations seem  to  have  forbidden  to  another,  and  all  are 


A   MEMORIAL.  I^^I 

necessary  to  a  complete  delineation.  It  accords  with 
the  plan  of  this  work  to  gather  the  facts  from  all 
accessible  sources,  omitting  none,  and  to  construct 
an  independent  narrative,  in  the  hope  that  by  group- 
ing them  in  proper  order  the  impression  of  the  reader 
will  be  one  of  continuity  as  well  as  of  completeness. 


142  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 

XII. 

'^ax— PRISON  AND  IRONS, 

They  cast  them  into  prison,  charging  the  jailer  to  keep 
them  safely;  who,  having  received  such  a  charge,  thrust  them 
into  the  inner  prison,  and  made  their  feet  fast  in  the  stocks. 
Acts  16:  23,  24. 

'*Joy  never  feasts  so  high, 
As  when  the  first  course  is  of  misery." 

ABOUT  the  middle  of  the  year  1824  the  war-cloud 
over  Burmah  was  heavy,  and  portentous  of  de- 
struction to  the  infant  cause  in  which  American  Bap- 
tists were  investing  their  means,  and  half  a  dozen  con- 
secrated Christians  were  jeopardizing  their  lives.  Both 
the  senders  and  the  sent  were  watching  events  with 
breathless  anxiety.  They  were  entirely  neutral  as  to 
the  issues  involved ;  seeking  only  spiritual  ends — the 
evangelization  of  the  natives  of  that  benighted  empire. 
Still,  in  the  exigencies  of  war  they  could  not  be  re- 
garded otherwise  than  with  a  jealous  eye.  It  was  nec- 
essary that  the  mails  be  guarded,  and  all  persons  be 
under  surveillance  of  the  authorities.  Hence,  in  the 
appalling  situation,  the  missionaries  feared  as  they 
entered  into  the  cloud  ;  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
globe  another  cloud,  one  of  dreadful  suspense,  settled 
down  on  the  churches  and  was  not  lifted  for  nearly 
two  years.  Whatever  inferences  American  Christians 
entertained,  they  derived   only   through  meager  war 


A  me;moriai. 


143 


records.  People  differed,  and  all  was  doubt  and  uncer- 
tainty, with  the  weight  of  probability  in  favor  of  the 
worst.  The  incense  of  prayer  and  the  testimony  of 
tears  that  came  before  Jehovah  in  that  dread  day  were 
fully  known  only  to  Him. 

Mrs.  Judson  had  returned  from  America,  and,  as 
before  said,  had  gone  forward  to  the  interior  of  the 
Empire — to  Ava,  the  capital.  The  first  reliable  intel- 
ligence of  the  declaration  of  war  received  by  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Judson,  reached  them  while  they  were  on  their 
way  thither,  at  a  point  about  one  hundred  miles  short 
of  their  destination,  and  where  a  part  of  the  Bur- 
mese had  encamped.  A  misunderstanding  had  existed 
for  some  time  between  the  Bengal  (EngHsh)  and  Bur- 
mese governments,  and  troops  from  both  sides  had 
marched  to  the  frontiers.  Suspicion  naturally  fell  on 
all  the  white  foreigners  within  the  Burman  jurisdic- 
tion, they  being  supposed  to  be  spies.  The  mission- 
aries were  not  made  an  exception.  As  they  proceeded 
they  met  Bandoola,  the  celebrated  Burman  general,  with 
the  remainder  of  his  troops ;  he  was  seated  on  a  golden 
barge,  surrounded  by  a  fleet  of  gold  war  boats,  one  of 
which  was  dispatched  to  intercept  them  and  make  the 
necessary  inquiries.  Information  being  given  that 
they  were  Americans,  not  English,  and  were  going  to 
Ava  in  obedience  to  the  command  of  His  Majesty, 
they  were  allowed  to  proceed. 

Dr.  Price  had  won  golden  opinions  at  Ava  by  his 
medical  skill,  and  many  there  had  seemed  quite  favor- 
able to  the  new  religion.  But  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson, 
on  their  arrival,  found  that  he  was  now  out  of  favor  at 
court,  because  suspicion  rested  on  the  foreigners.     He 


144  AN^^    H-    JUDSON. 

had  met  them  in  a  small  boat,  a  few  days  below  Ava, 
and  through  him  they  lea,rned  that  important  changes 
had  taken  place  at  the  palace ;  the  privy  council 
having  been  turned  out  and  a  new  set  appointed,  with 
which  the}^  were  not  at  all  acquainted.  Mr.  Judson  ap- 
proached the  palace  two  or  three  times,  and  found  that 
a  year  had  made  great  changes.  The  King's  manner 
toward  him  was  that  of  indifference,  and  his  old 
friends  and  advocates  before  the  King  were  missing. 
Very  few  recognized  him.  His  Majesty  just  spoke  to 
him,  and  accepted  a  small  gift,  but  afterward  gave 
him  neither  a  w^ord  nor  a  look.  The  Queen,  w^ho 
had  hitherto  expressed  wishes  for  Mrs.  Judson's 
speedy  arrival,  now  made  no  inquiries  for  her,  nor 
intimated  a  desire  to  see  her.  All  interest  in  the 
foreigners,  for  any  cause — medical  skill,  manners,  re- 
ligion, curiosity — was  sunk  in  jealousy  and  disaffec- 
tion on  account  of  prevalent  hostilities  with  the  Eng- 
lish. This  was  a  sore  disappointment  to  the  mission- 
aries, since  it  left  them  without  means  of  access  to 
the  throne  of  the  potentate  by  whose  favor  or  by  the 
absence  of  whose  frown  they  must  expect  to  find 
access  to  the  people  whom  they  came  to  Ava  to  save. 
Mrs.  Judson  made  no  attempt  to  visit  the  palace, 
but  she  was  almost  daily  invited  to  visit  some  of  the 
branches  of  the  royal  family,  who  were  living  in  their 
own  houses,  outside  of  the  palace  inclosure.  Under 
the  circumstances  they  thought  it  most  prudent  to 
pursue  their  original  intention  of  building  a  house  and 
to  commence  missionary  operations  as  occasions  might 
appear,  thus  endeavoring  to  convince  the  government 
that  they  really  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  existing 


A    MEMORIAL.  I45 

war.  Public  worship  was  held  at  Dr.  Price's  house 
every  lyord's  Da}^  inasmuch  as  through  his  acquaint- 
ance with  the  neighbors  an  assembly  of  a  dozen  to 
tw^enty  could  be  secured,  including  the  few  disciples 
who  came  up  from  Rangoon. 

In  two  or  three  weeks  after  their  arrival  the  re- 
moval of  the  capital  from  Amarapura  to  Ava  took 
place,  as  narrated,  and  after  that  an  order  came  from 
the  King  that  foreigners  should  not  be  allowed  to 
enter  the  new  palace.  This  was  somewhat  alarming 
to  the  missionaries,  but  regarding  the  mandate  as 
purely  political,  and  in  view  of  the  earnest  protestation 
already  made  that  they  were  not  Englishmen,  and 
were  here  as  teachers  of  religion,  they  hoped  it  might 
not  materially  affe(5l  them.  And  yet  there  remained 
in  the  dark,  distrustful  mind  the  conviction  that  all 
having  a  white  face,  except  the  French,  were  subjecfts 
of  the  King  of  England ;  a  belief  that  bore  against 
the  Americans  with  special  force,  because  of  the 
identity  of  language.  But  for  some  weeks  nothing 
took  place  to  alarm  them.  Mr.  Judson  went  on 
preaching,  and  Mrs.  Judson  continued  the  little  school 
she  had  organized.  The  masons  also  made  progress 
in  building  their  house.  Mrs.  Judson  was  quite 
happy  with  the  little  girls  she  was  teaching  to  read 
and  sew,  two  of  whom  she  had  named  Mary  and  Abby 
Hasseltine  and  one  of  whom  was  to  be  supported  by 
the  "Judson  Association  of  Bradford  Academy."  She 
had  begun  to  make  inquiries  for  others,  and  was  hop- 
ing for  success,  under  divine  guidance,  when  her 
prospedt  was  suddenly  blasted  by  the  war. 


146  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

On  the  23d  of  May,  1824,  just  as  the  missionaries 
had  concluded  worship  at  Dr.  Price's  house,  intelli- 
gence was  brought  to  them  that  Rangoon  had  been 
taken  by  the  English.  The  shock  the  news  created 
was  "a  mixture  of  fear  and  joy";  of  fear  lest  the  for- 
tunes of  war  should  prove  serious  misfortunes  to  them, 
and  of  joy  because  the  hope  w^as  thereby  created  that 
in  the  event  of  a  victory  for  the  English,  toleration 
might  be  granted  to  religious  effort  among  the  natives. 
Inquiry  was  made  by  a  young  merchant  residing  at 
Ava,  Mr.  Gouger,  who  had  much  to  lose,  and  informa- 
tion had  been  returned  b}^  His  Majesty  that  no  fear 
need  be  entertained  by  the  foreigners  there,  as  they 
"had  nothing  to  do  with  the  war,  and  should  not 
be  molested." 

The  government  was  now  in  motion  and  commo- 
tion. An  army  of  ten  or  twelve  thousand  men  was 
sent  off  to  join  a  similar  one  proceeding  up  towards 
Ava,  before  the  news  from  Rangoon  reached  it.  There 
was  great  confidence  on  the  part  of  the  Burman  Pow- 
ers, the  only  fear  being  that  the  foreign  forces  would 
become  alarmed,  and  escape  by  their  ships  before  there 
would  be  time  to  secure  them  as  slaves.  The  war 
boats  passed  down  the  river,  before  Mr.  Judson's 
home ;  and  the  soldiers  were  in  high  glee,  singing  and 
dancing,  and  gesticulating  in  a  jubilant  way,  feeling 
that  they  were  on  a  spoils  expedition.  If  their  knowl- 
edge of  the  English  prowess  had  been  as  correct  as 
was  that  of  the  foreign  residents,  they  would  have 
manifested  a  very  different  spirit. 

As  soon   as   the   army   was   dispatched,   the    government 
began  to  inquire  for  the  cause  of  the  arrival  of  the  strangers 


A    MEMORIAIv.  147 

at  Rangoon.  There  must  be  spies  in  the  country,  suggested 
some,  who  have  invited  them  over.  And  who  so  likely  to  be 
spies  as  the  Englishmen  residing  at  Ava?  A  report  was  in 
circulation  that  Captain  Laird,  lately  arrived,  had  brought 
Bengal  papers  which  contained  the  intention  of  the  English 
to  take  Rangoon,  and  it  was  kept  a  secret  from  His  Majesty. 
An  inquiry  was  instituted.  The  three  Englishmen,  Gouger, 
Laird,  and  Rogers,  were  called  and  examined.  It  was  found 
that  they  had  seen  the  papers,  and  they  were  put  in  confine- 
ment, though  not  in  prison.  We  now  began  to  tremble  for 
ourselves,  and  were  daily  in  expectation  of  some  dreadful 
event.    Mrs.  Judson  says  : 

"  At  length  Mr.  Judson  and  Dr.  Price  were  summoned  to  a 
court  of  examination,  where  strict  inquiry  was  made  relative 
to  all  they  knew.  The  great  point  seemed  to  be,  whether  they 
had  been  in  the  habit  of  making  communication  to  foreign- 
ers, of  the  state  of  the  country,  etc.  They  answered  that  they 
had  always  written  to  their  friends  in  America,  but  had  no 
correspondence  with  English  officers,  or  the  Bengal  govern- 
ment. After  their  examination  they  were  not  put  in  confine- 
ment as  the  Englishmen  had  been,  but  were  allowed  to  return 
to  their  houses.  In  examining  the  accounts  of  Mr.  G.,  it  was 
found  that  Mr.  J.  and  Dr.  Price  had  taken  money  of  him  to  a 
considerable  amount.  Ignorant  as  were  the  Burmese  of  our 
mode  of  receiving  money  by  orders  on  Bengal,  this  circum- 
stance, to  their  suspicious  minds,  was  a  sufficient  evidence 
that  the  missionaries  were  in  the  pay  of  the  English,  and  very 
probably  spies.  It  was  thus  represented  to  the  King,  who, 
in  an  angry  tone,  ordered  the  immediate  arrest  of  the  two 
teachers."— ICnowles'  Memoir. 

The  arrest  signalizes  a  new  and  tragical  period  in 
Mrs.  Judson's  life,  and  in  the  history  of  missions;  one 
in  comparison  with  which  the  preceding  twelve  years 
of  vicissitudes  and  sufferings  seem  insignificant.  Her 
character  was  simply  foreshown  in  what  had  gone 
before  —  in  those  endeavors  which,  in  either  man  or 


148  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

woman,  would  be  regarded  as  heroic — while  now  the 
full  form  of  the  heroine  appears,  as  the  supreme  occa- 
sion is  presented. 

On  the  8th  of  June,  1824,  Mr.  Judson  was  seized, 
and,  in  common  with  another  American,  three  Eng- 
lishmen, one  Greek,  and  Dr.  Price,  was  thrown  into 
the  death-prison  at  Ava.  The  seizure  took  place  at 
the  dinner  hour,  in  his  own  humble,  home,  and  in  the 
presence  of  Mrs.  Judson,  the  little  Burnian  girl  pupils, 
and  the  Bengalee  servants ;  and  it  was  understood  to 
mean  death.  It  was  without  the  forms  of  civilized 
warfare ;  was  a  rude  irruption  of  a  peaceful  home  and 
the  sanctities  of  conjugal  ties.  An  officer  holding  a 
black  book,  attended  by  a  dozen  Burmans,  rushed  into 
the  house  and  demanded  the  teacher.  Mr.  Judson 
having  presented  himself,  he  said,  "  You  are  called  by 
the  King;"  meaning  that  he  was  under  arrest  as  a 
criminal.  At  that  instant  the  "  spotted  face,"  the 
criminal  who  had  the  nefarious  duty  to  perform, 
seized  him  and  threw  him  on  the  floor,  and  produced 
the  small  cord  used  as  a  means  of  torture.  Mrs.  Jud- 
son caught  his  arm  and  tried  to  stop  the  proceeding, 
offering  him  money,  the  charm  to  a  benighted  mind. 
But  her  effort  only  exasperated  the  officer,  who  said, 
"  Take  her,  too ;  she  also  is  a  foreigner."  Mr.  Judson, 
with  an  imploring  look,  begged  that  they  would  per- 
mit her  to  remain  until  further  orders.  The  scene  as- 
sumed a  horrifying  aspedl ;  something  terrible  must  be 
involved  in  a  casfe  requiring  such  immediate  torture, 
and  creating  such  excitement  as  at  once  prevailed. 
The  whole  neighborhood  collected;  the  masons  at 
work  on  the  brick  house  fled,  and  the  inmates  of  the 


A    MEMORIAL.  149 

home,  the  servants  and  the  pupils,  were  shocked,  the 
former  with  astonishment  at  the  brutal  treatment  of 
their  master,  and  the  latter  with  fear.  The  Burman 
children  cried  and  screamed.  The  heartless  execu- 
tioner responded  to  the  entreating  words  and  tears  by 
drawing  the  cords.  In  vain  did  Mrs.  Judson  beg,  with 
offers  of  money,  that  the  ropes  might  be  loosened. 
Her  husband  was  bound  fast  and  dragged  from  her 
sight,  she  knew  not  whither.  She  gave  the  money  to 
Moung  Ing,  the  faithful  disciple,  with  instru(5lions  to 
follow  after  and  make  further  attempt  to  mitigate  his 
suffering ;  but  instead  of  being  moved  by  her  entreat- 
ies, "  the  unfeeling  wretches,  when  a  few  rods  from 
the  house,  again  threw  their  prisoner  on  the  ground 
and  drew  the  cords  still  tighter,  so  as  almost  to  pre- 
vent respiration." 

The  officer  and  gang,  with  the  prisoner,  appeared 
at  the  court-house,  where  the  governor  of  the  city 
and  other  officers  were  collected,  and  where  one  of 
them  read  the  order  of  the  King  to  commit  Mr. 
Judson  to  the  death-prison.  He  was  soon  hurled 
into  the  prison,  the  door  closed  behind  him,  and 
Moung  Ing  saw  no  more. 

The  day  passed  and  the  night  shut  down  upon 
a  broken  family;  the  husband  in  prison,  with  only 
a  violent  death  to  be  reasonably  expected,  and  the 
sleepless  wife  imprisoned  in  her  own  home,  in  awful 
suspense  as  to  both  his  condition  and  her  own  fate. 
The  magistrate  had  come  into  the  veranda  and  called 
her  out  for  the  purpose  of  being  examined.  She, 
with  quick  forethought,  destroyed  all  her  letters  and 
journals,  and  writings  of  every  kind,  lest  they  should 


I50  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 

disclose  the  fa6l  that  they  had  correspondents  in 
England,  and  had  kept  a  memorandum  of  all  occur- 
rences in  the  country  since  their  arrival;  then  she 
went  out  and  submitted  to  a  minute  and  very  scru- 
tinizing inquiry  as  to  everything  she  knew.  When 
the  examination  was  finished,  the  magistrate  ordered 
the  gates  of  the  compound  to  be  shut,  that  no  person 
be  allowed  to  go  in  or  out.  and  placed  a  guard  of 
ten  ruffians,  under  strict  orders  to  keep  her  safe. 

It  being  now  dark,  she  retired  with  her  four  little 
Burman  girls  to  an  inner  room,  and  barred  the  doors. 
But  this  was  displeasing  to  the  guard,  w^ho  commanded 
her  to  unbar  the  doors  and  come  out,  or  they  would 
break  the  house  down.  Rising  in  her  conscious  wo- 
manhood, and  with  her  crushed  feelings  under  control, 
she  obstinately  refused  to  obey,  and  threatened  to 
report  their  conduct  to  the  higher  authorities  on  the 
morrow.  Finding  her  firm,  they  sought  satisfaction 
in  taking  the  two  Bengalee  servants  and  binding  them 
in  the  stocks,  in  a  very  painful  position.  This  also 
was  too  much  for  Mrs.  Judson  to  endure,  and,  calling 
the  head  man  to  the  window,  she  promised  to  make 
them  all  a  present  in  the  morning  if  they  would 
release  them.  They  accepted  the  conditions,  after 
much  parleying  and  threatening,  yet  tacitly  reserved 
to  themselves  the  delightful  privilege  of  annoying  her 
throughout  the  night.  They  indulged  in  dreadful 
carousings  and  diabolical  language  about  the  house, 
as  if  they  would  let  no  time  or  opportunity  for  heap- 
ing contempt  on  the  foreigners  pass  unimproved ;  in 
which  conduct  they  knew  they  had  the  sympathy  of 
their  superiors.     Unprotected,  desolate,  and  sleepless. 


A   MEMORIAI,.  151 

the  night  was  to  her  one  of  horror.  Uncertaint}'  as 
to  the  fate  of  Mr.  Judson  was  by  no  means  the  least 
of  the  causes  of  her  anxiety.  All  things  conspired 
to  make  the  night  the  most  distressing  one  she  had 
ever  passed ;  and  yet,  had  she  not  been  inured  to  hard 
experiences,  it  would  have  hung  still  more  heavily 
over  her,  perhaps  beyond  endurance;  and  had  she 
have  known  what  was  before  her,  her  great  nature 
might  have  been  found  inadequate  to  bear  the  hideous 
prospe(5t. 

Morning  came  and  Moung  Ing  was  sent  to  learn 
the  situation  of  Mr.  Judson,  and  give  him  food,  if 
found  living.  He  soon  returned  with  the  report  that 
he  and  all  the  white  foreigners  were  confined  in  the 
death-prison,  each  with  three  pairs  of  iron  fetters,  and 
all  fastened  to  a  long  pole  to  prevent  them  from  mov- 
ing. Mrs.  Judson's  anguish  was  now  at  its  height ; 
for  while  she  was  permitted  to  act  she  was  hopeful  of 
surmounting  even  the  greatest  obstacles,  but  now 
that  she  was  herself  a  prisoner,  what  could  she  do  for 
the  release  of  the  missionaries  !  She,  in  some  way, 
reached  the  ear  of  the  magistrate  and  besought  him  to 
let  her  go  to  some  member  of  the  government  and 
state  her  case,  but  he  claimed  that  he  could  not  con- 
sent for  fear  she  would  make  her  escape.  The  next 
expedient  was  writing  a  note  to  one  of  the  King's 
sisters,  with  whom  she  had  been  intimate,  requesting 
her  to  use  her  influence  for  the  release  of  the 'teachers. 
The  note  was  returned  with  the  reply  that  she  did  not 
understand  it ;  a  poHte  refusal  to  interfere,  lest,  as  it 
was  afterwards  learned,  the  Queen  should  be  dis- 
pleased thereby.    The  day  dragged  heavily  away,  and 


152  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

another  night  came  on  with  its  attendant  horrors. 
The  guards  were  somewhat  softened  by  presents  of 
cigars  and  tea,  so  that  she  was  allowed  to  remain  in- 
side her  room,  without  being  threatened,  as  in  the  night 
before.  Her  mind  was  thus  relieved  of  fear,  in  some 
degree,  but  only  to  be  the  more  heavily  laden  by  the 
thought  of  her  husband  in  the  death-prison,  in  irons 
and  without  anything  better  than  the  felon's  fare. 
The  imagination  performed  an  unwelcome  office  to 
her  wearied  soul ;  it  brought  no  solace,  but  a  haunt- 
ing spectre  instead. 

The  third  day  dawned  and  she  was  still  a  prisoner ; 
but  there  was  another  prisoner  in  whose  case  her  in- 
terest centered,  and  her  anxiet}^  for  whom  swallowed 
up  all  her  other  anxieties.  She  first  sent  a  message  to 
the  governor  of  the  city,  requesting  him  to  allow  her 
to  visit  him  with  a  present.  This  course  had  the 
desired  effect,  and  he  immediately  sent  orders  to  the 
guards  to  permit  her  to  go  into  town.  He  received 
her  pleasantly  and  listened  to  her  statement.  She  in- 
formed him  explicitly  as  to  the  position  occupied  by 
the  foreigners,  particularly  that  of  the  teachers  who 
were  Americans,  and  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  war. 
He  told  her  that  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  release 
them  from  prison  or  from  irons,  but  that  he  could 
make  their  situation  more  comfortable,  and  she  must 
consult  his  head  officer  as  to  the  means.  Turning  to 
this  officer,  she  discerned  through  his  countenance  a 
full  assemblage  of  all  evil  passions,  and  she  had  little 
to  expect  from  him  except  by  appealing  to  some  one 
of  these,  as,  his  greed  or  rapacity.  And  it  is  quite 
probable  that,  in  anticipation  of  the  petition,  he  had 


A   MEMORIAI,.      .  15^^ 

been  advised  by  his  superior.  He  took  her  aside  and 
endeavored  to  convince  her  that  she  and  all  the  pris- 
oners were  at  his  disposal,  which  was  manifestly  false, 
inasmuch  as  the  governor  himself  had  disclaimed  such 
power ;  but  vShe  had  not  been  impressed  with  the  ve- 
racity of  the  officials,  and  she  was  not  just  now  con- 
cerning herself  with  the  sins  of  any  one,  but  with  the 
release  of  her  husband  by  any  means  not  dishonoring 
to  herself.  For  this  purpose  she  had  carried  consid- 
erable money  with  her.  And  she  was  not  taken  una- 
wares when  informed  by  said  head  officer  that  the 
future  comfort  of  her  husband  and  his  family  would 
depend  on  her  liberality  as  to  presents.  On  inquiring 
what  she  must  do  to  obtain  a  mitigation  of  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  two  teachers,  he  replied  that  she  must  give 
him  two  hundred  ticals  (about  one  hundred  dollars), 
two  pieces  of  fine  cloth,  and  two  pieces  of  handker- 
chiefs; the  specification  of  the  character  and  amount 
of  the  gifts  showing  that  the  price  had  been  well  pre- 
meditated. Her  home  was  two  miles  from  the  prison, 
and  she  could  not  easily  return ;  she,  therefore,  begged 
him  to  accept  the  money  and  not  insist  on  the  other 
articles,  as  they  were  not  in  her  possession.  He  hesi- 
tated for  some  time,  but  the  sight  of  the  money  and 
the  fear  of  losing  his  chance  to  get  it,  overcame  his 
disposition  to  parley,  and  he  accepted  the  proposition, 
promising  to  relieve  the  teachers  from  their  most  pain- 
ful situation. 

She  then  procured  an  order  from  the  governor  for 
her  admittance  to  the  prison.  The  sensations  pro- 
duced by  meeting  her  husband  in  that  ''wretched, 
horrid  situation,"  and  the  affecting  scene  which  en- 


154  ^NN    H.   JUDSON. 

sued,  she  would  not,  in  her  otherwise  full  delineation 
of  the  circumstances,  attempt  to  describe.  But  they 
have  been  portrayed  by  Mr.  Gouger,  one  of  the  seven 
cast  into  the  prison  together,  in  the  following  words : 

It  so  happened  that  at  the  moment  of  their  interview  out- 
side the  wicket  door,  I  had  to  hobble  to  the  spot  to  receive  m> 
daily  bundle  of  provisions,  and  the  heart-rending  scene  which 
I  there  beheld  was  one  that  it  is  impossible  to  forget.  Poor 
Judson  was  fastidiously  neat  and  cleanly  in  his  person  and 
apparel,  just  the  man  to  depi(5l  the  metamorphosis  he  had 
undergone  in  these  two  wretched  days  in  its  strongest  con- 
trast. When  Mrs.  Judson  had  parted  from  him  he  was  in  the 
enjoyment  of  these  personal  comforts,  whereas  now  none  but 
an  artist  could  describe  his  appearance.  Two  nights  of  rest- 
less torture  of  body  and  anxiety  of  mind  had  imparted  to 
his  countenance  a  death-like  expression,  while  it  would  be 
hardly  decent  to  advert  in  more  than  general  terms  to  his 
begrimmed  and  impure  exterior.  No  wonder  his  wretched 
wife,  shocked  at  the  change,  hid  her  face  in  her  hands,  over- 
whelmed with  grief,  hardly  daring  to  trust  herself  to  look 
upon  him.  Perhaps  the  part  I  mj'^self  sustained  in  the  pi6lure 
may  have  helped  to  rivet  it  on  my  memory,  for  though  more 
than  thirty-five  years  have  since  passed  away,  it  reverts  to 
me  with  all  the  freshness  of  a  scene  of  yesterday. 

Mrs.  Judson  was  not  allowed  to  enter  the  prison, 
so  Mr.  Judson  crawled  to  the  door  w^here  they  had  the 
interview  referred  to,  in  which  he  gave  some  direc5tions 
relative  to  his  release.  But  before  they  could  perfect 
any  arrangement  she  was  ordered  to  depart.  The  iron- 
hearted  jailers,  seemingly,  could  not  bear  to  see  them 
enjoy  the  consolation  of  a  meeting,  even  in  that  miser- 
able place.  In  vain  she  pleaded  the  order  of  the  gov- 
ernor for  her  admittance ;  they  again  harshly  repeated, 
"  Depart,  or  we  will  pull  you  out."     The  same  evening 


A    MEMORIAL.  I55 

the  missionaries,  with  the  other  foreigners,  who  paid 
an  equal  sum,  were  taken  out  of  the  common  prison, 
and  confined  in  an  open  shed  in  the  prison  inclosure. 
Here  she  was  permitted  to  send  them  food  and  mats 
to  sleep  on,  but  was  not  allowed  to  enter  again  for 
several  days. 

The  name  of  this  prison  was  Let-7na-yoon,  signify- 
ing hand  shrink  ?iot.  To  the  Burman  mind  the  name 
conveyed  a  sense  of  terror,  since  it  told  of  the  dread- 
ful atrocities  practiced  within,  under  sanction  of  the 
government.  Mr.  Gouger  says:  "  It  contemplates  the 
extreme  of  human  suffering,  and  when  this  has  reached 
a  point  at  which  our  nature  recoils — when  it  is  sup- 
posed that  any  one  bearing  the  human  form  might 
well  refuse  to  be  the  instrument  to  add  to  it,  the  hand 
of  the  executioner  is  apostrophized  and  encouraged 
not  to  follow  the  dictates  of  the  heart  — '  Thine  eye 
shall  not  pity,  and  thine  hand  not  spare.' " 

It  was  a  building  about  forty  feet  long  and  thirty 
feet  wide;  was  five  or  six  feet  high  along  the  sides, 
and,  having  a  sharp  roof,  was  perhaps  twice  that  height 
at  the  center.  There  was  no  ventilation  except  by 
means  of  the  crevices,  and  of  the  door  which  was 
seldom  open.  It  was  constructed  of  boards,  and  was 
rather  stronger  than  a  common  Burman  dwelling 
house;  yet  so  little  confidence  was  reposed  in  its 
strength  that  an  array  of  stocks  and  shackles  was 
always  present,  to  which  was  added  the  frightful  sur- 
veillance of  inhuman  keepers.  "On  the  thin  roof 
poured  down  the  burning  rays  of  the  tropical  sun." 
Within  were  confined  a  crowd  of  prisoners,  of  both 
sexes,  and  all  nationalities. 


156  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

The  worst  of  criminals  were  huddled  down  beside  the 
highest  of  state  officers — perhaps  the  very  judges  who  sat  upon 
their  crime  the  day  before ;  for  an  autocrat,  possessed  of  limit- 
less and  irresponsible  power,  thinks  it  a  small  thing  to  pun- 
ish even  a  favorite  by  thrusting  him  temporarily  into  this 
place  of  degradation.  It  is  well  understood  that  all  who  are 
cast  into  the  death-prison  are  under  the  condemnation  of 
death,  though  they  may  yet  be  saved  by  the  clemency  of  the 
sovereign. 

The  missionaries  were  imprisoned  in  the  month  of  June, 
and  though  the  rains,  which  are  later  and  much  lighter  at  Ava 
than  farther  down  the  country,  had  commenced,  their  cooling 
influence  was  insufficient  to  counteract  the  sickening  sense  of 
suffocation  to  which  the  poisonous  miasma  rising  from  the 
damp  earth  contributed  in  a  most  dangerous  degree.  The 
prison  was  built  on  the  ground,  and  so  the  consequences  of  a 
lack  of  ventilation  were  rendered  doubly  serious.  Prisoners 
were  continually  dying  of  disease,  as  well  as  by  violent  treat- 
ment, and  yet  the  place  was  always  full.  They  came  from  the 
palace  and  from  the  robber's  den ;  from  the  shop  of  the  handi- 
craftsman, whose  power  of  execution  had  fallen  short  of  his 
monarch's  conception  ;  and  from  the  more  aspiring  roof  of 
the  merchant,  sacrificed  to  his  reputed  wealth.  Several  se- 
poys, and  occasionally  English  soldiers,  swelled  the  lists  of 
the  miserable.  These  poor  creatures,  having  no  regular  sup- 
ply of  food,  were  often  brought  to  the  very  verge  of  starvation ; 
and  then,  on  some  worship  day,  the  women  would  come,  as  a 
religious  duty,  to  the  prison,  with  rice  and  fruits;  and  the 
miserable  sufferers,  maddened  by  starvation,  would  eat  and 
die.  "O,  I  dare  not  tell  you,"  said  Mr.  Judson  to  me,  one  da}-, 
"  half  the  horrors  I  have  seen  and  felt.  They  haunt  me,  when 
I  am  ill  and  sad,  even  now,  and  the  simplest  relation  of  them 
would  do  no  good  to  either  of  our  dreams." 

The  keepers  of  the  prison  were  all  branded  criminals; 
some  wearing  the  name  of  their  crime  burned  into  the  flesh 
of  their  foreheads  or  breasts ;  others  with  a  dark  ring  upon 
the  cheek,  or  about  the  eye;  and  others  still  with  mutilated 
noses,  blind  of  an  eye,  or  with  their  ears  quite  cut  away. 


A   MEMORIAL.  157 

They  are  called  'children  of  the  prison,"  and  form  a  distinct 
class,  quite  out  of  the  wa}'  of  reputable  people,  intermarrying 
only  among  themselves,  and  so  perpetuating  vice,  while  they 
are  shut,  both  by  their  sentence  and  the  horror  with  which 
they  are  regarded  by  all  classes,  without  the  pale  of  virtue. 
The  cruelty  or  other  vicious  inclination  which  led  to  the  per- 
petration of  the  first  crime,  is  now  deepened  and  rendered 
indelible  by  constant  familiarity  with  every  species  of  human 
torture,  until  these  creatures  seem  really  to  be  actuated  by 
some  demoniac  spirit.  The  head  jailer,  called  by  the  prison- 
ers the  tiger-cat,  and  branded  in  the  breast  loo-that,  murderer, 
was  one  of  the  most  hideous  and  disgusting  of  his  fraternity. 
He  affected  great  jocularity,  and  was  facetious  even  in  the 
commission  of  his  worst  cruelties,  bringing  down  his  hammer 
with  a  jest  when  fastening  manacles,  putting  his  hated  arms 
affectionately  around  the  prisoners,  and  calling  them  his 
beloved  children,  to  get  a  better  opportunity  to  prick  or 
pinch  them,  and  withal  studying  torture  as  the  most  comical 
of  arts.— 71/r.y.  E.  C.  Judson's  Reminiscences  of  Conversations 
with  Dr.  Jiidson. 

As  the  reader  is  not  presumed  to  have  at  hand,  or 
to  have  read  full  accounts  of  what  the  early  mission- 
aries saw  or  passed  through,  one  or  two  more  extracts 
are  given  now,  as  a  preparation  to  realize  what  Mrs. 
Judson,  as  well  as  the  prisoners,  had  to  encounter. 
One  of  the  English  fellow-prisoners  of  Mr.  Judson  has 
left  a  vivid  and  definite  description  of  the  jail's  interi- 
or, from  which  we  gather  that  in  after-time  a  sense  of 
the  humorous,  mingled  with  that  of  horror,  influenced 
his  mind  as  he  wrote : 

The  only  articles  of  furniture  the  place  contained  were 
these :  First,  and  most  prominent,  was  a  gigantic  row  of 
stocks,  similar  in  its  construction  to  that  formerly  used  in 
England,  but  now  nearly  extindl ;  though  dilapidated  speci- 
mens may  still  be  seen  in  some  of  the  market-places  of   our 


rSt 


158  ANN    H.    JUDSON 

own  country  towns.  It  was  capable  of  accommodating  more 
than  a  dozen  occupants,  and,4ike  a  huge  alligator,  opened  and 
shut  its  jaws  with  a  loud  snap  upon  its  prey.  Several  smaller 
reptiles,  interesting  varieties,  of  the  same  species,  lay  basking 
around  this  monster,  each  holding  by  the  leg  a  pair  of  hapless 
victims  consigned  to  its  custody.  These  were  heavy  logs  of 
timber,  bored  with  holes  to  admit  the  feet,  and  fitted  with 
wooden  pins  to  hold  them  fast.  In  the  center  of  the  apartment 
was  placed  a  tripod,  holding  a  large  earthen  cup  filled  with 
earth-oil,  to  be  used  as  a  lamp  during  the  night  watches ;  and 
lastly,  a  simple  but  suspicious-looking  piece  of  machinery, 
whose  painful  uses  it  was  my  fate  to  test  before  many  hours 
had  elapsed.  It  was  merely  a  long  bamboo,  suspended  from 
the  roof  by  a  rope  at  each  end,  and  worked  by  blocks  or  pul- 
leys, to  raise  or  depress  it  at  pleasure.  {For  suspending  pris- 
oners by  the  feet) . 

Before  me,  stretched  on  the  floor,  lay  forty  or  fifty  hapless 
wretches,  whose  crimes  or  misfortunes  had  brought  them  into 
this  place  of  torment.  They  were  all  nearly  naked,  and  the 
half-famished  features  and  skeleton  frames  of  many  of  them 
too  plainly  told  the  story  of  their  protracted  sufferings.  Very 
few  were  without  chains,  and  some  had  one  or  both  feet  fast  in 
the  stocks  besides.  A  sight  of  such  squalid  wretchedness  can 
hardly  be  imagined.  Silence  seemed  to  be  the  order  of  the 
day ;  perhaps  the  poor  creatures  were  so  engrossed  with  their 
own  misery  that  they  hardly  cared  to  make  any  remarks  on 
the  intrusion  of  so  unusual  an  inmate  as  myself. 

If  the  ensemble  be  difficult  to  portray,  the  stench  was  ab- 
rolutely  indescribable,  for  it  was  not  like  anything  which 
exists  elsewhere  in  creation.  I  will,  therefore,  give  the  facts, 
and  leave  the  reader's  nose  to  understand  them  by  a  synthetic 
course  of  reasoning — if  it  can. 

Forbearing  for  the  present  to  give  more  from  the 
Englishman's  delineation,  a  little  space  will  be  given 
to  the  impressions  that  Dr.  Price  received  on  being 
ushered  to  his  quarters : 


A   MEMORIAL.  159 

A  little  bamboo  door  opened,  and  I  rose  to  go  toward  it. 
But,  Ob !  wbo  can  describe  my  sensations ! — shackled  like 
a  common  felon,  in  the  care  of  hangmen,  the  offscouring  of 
the  country,  turned  like  a  dog  into  his  kennel,  my  wife,  my 
dear  family,  left  to  suffer  alone  all  the  rudeness  such  wretches 
are  capable  of.  The  worst,  however,  was  yet  to  come  ;  for, 
making  the  best  of  my  way  up  the  high  steps,  I  was  ushered 
into  the  grand  apartment.  Horror  of  horrors  !  What  a  sight ! 
Never  to  my  dying  day  shall  I  forget  the  scene ;  a  dim  lamp 
in  the  midst,  just  making  darkness  visible,  and  discovering 
to  my  horrified  gaze  sixty  or  seventy  wretched  objects,  some 
in  long  rows  made  fast  in  the  stocks,  some  strung  on  long 
poles,  some  simply  fettered ;  but  all  sensible  of  a  new  acqui- 
sition of  misery  in  the  approach  of  a  new  prisoner.  Stupe- 
fied, I  stopped  to  gaze  till,  goaded  on,  I  proceeded  toward 
the  further  end,  when  I  again  halted,  A  new  and  unexpected 
sight  met  my  eyes.  Till  now  I  had  been  kept  in  ignorance 
of  the  fate  of  my  companions.  A  long  row  of  white  objects, 
stretched  on  the  floor  in  a  most  crowded  situation,  revealed 
to  me,  however,  but  too  well  their  sad  state,  and  I  was  again 
urged  forward.  Poor  old  Rogers,  wishing  to  retain  the  end 
of  the  bamboo,  made  way  for  me  to  be  placed  alongside  of 
Mr.  Judson.  "We  all  hoped  you  would  have  escaped,  you 
were  so  long  coming,"  was  the  first  friendly  salutation  I  had 
yet  received ;  but,  alas !  it  was  made  by  friends  whose  sympathy 
was  now  unavailable. 

Such  were  the  "accommodations" — "the  grand 
apartment " — furnished  the  excellent  of  the  earth  in 
common  with  those  regarded  as  felons  under  a  gov- 
ernment which  was  scarcely  less  than  an  embodiment 
of  crime  against  mankind.  Mrs.  Judson,  without  en- 
tering the  place,  was  sufficiently  convinced  through 
her  several  senses,  and  especially  by  the  horrid  appear- 
ance of  Mr.  Judson,  so  characteristically  tidy,  that 
there  was  trouble  enough  upon  them  all.  She  saw 
that  while  a  most  horrible  bondage  had  been  imposed 


l6o  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

on  her  best  beloved,  a  severe  strain,  in  consequence, 
was  to  come  upon  all  her  own  faculties — a  prolonga- 
tion of  that  of  the  two  preceding  days  which  seemed 
of  itself  almost  too  much.  The  exigency  of  the  case 
was  just  beginning  to  appear  in  its  magnitude,  and 
debaring  all  thought  of  what  might  have  been,  and 
of  what  actually  had  been  in  other  days,  and  of  what 
was  now  beyond  the  ocean,  she  girded  herself  for  the 
most  heroic  and  protradled,  yet  unforeseen,  efforts  in 
woman's  history. 


A   MEMORIAL.  l6l 


XIII. 

I^ax— DAUNTLESS   DEVOTION. 

Man's  love  is  of  man's  life  a  thing  apart, 
'Tis  woman's  whole  existence. 

Byron. 

Woman  !  Blest  partner  of  our  joys  and  woes ! 

Even  in  the  darkest  hour  of  earthly  ill, 
Untarnished,  yet  thy  fond  affection  glows, 

Throbs  with  each  pulse  and  beats  with  every  thrill. 

Sand's  Yanwyden. 

MRS.  JUDSON  now  began  to  project  methods  of 
reaching  and  influencing  those  ill  power,  not 
disheartened  by  her  experiences  thus  far,  nor  contem- 
plating for  a  moment  a  cessation  of  experiments  in 
case  any  one  or  many  should  prove  ineffectual.  There 
was  a  great  life  to  be  saved  ;  one  of  vast  consequence 
to  those  who  were  heartlessly,  murderously  taking  it 
away,  and  nothing  short  of  its  loss,  or  the  sacrifice  of 
her  own  on  the  altar  of  Love,  was  to  cause  a  cessation 
of  effort.  Nor  were  her  labors,  whether  at  court  or  at 
prison,  to  be  limited  except  by  her  means  and  gift  of 
endurance ;  other  valuable  lives  were  in  jeopardy,  and 
she  would  sustain  them  so  far  as  it  was  in  her  power, 
and  liberate  the  victims  if  possible. 

Aftci  her  visit  to  the  prison  she  contrived  a 
method  of  reaching  the  Queen  with  a  petition.  In 
consequence  of  Mr.  Judson's   imprisonment,  and  her 


l62  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

own  distressing  circumstances,  they  both  were  in  a 
state  of  disgrace  before  the  government,  and  no  per- 
son disgraced  was  admitted  to  the  palace.  So  she 
sought  to  suppHcate  Her  Highness  through  her 
brother's  wife,  w^hom  she  had  visited,  and  from  whom 
she  had  received  particular  marks  of  favor  in  better 
days.  She  called  on  her,  carrying  a  present  of  consid- 
erable value,  but  was  coolly  received.  She  found  her 
lolling  on  her  carpet,  with  her  attendants  about  her, 
and,  without  w^aiting  to  be  accosted  in  the  usual  way, 
she  at  once,  in  a  direct,  bold  yet  respectful  manner, 
stated  the  distresses  and  wrongs  being  suffered,  and 
begged  her  assistance.  Her  ladyship  partly  raised  her 
head,  opened  the  present  and  indifferently  replied: 
"  Your  case  is  not  singular ;  all  the  foreigners  are 
treated  alike." 

"  But  it  is  singular,"  was  the  answer.  "  The  teach- 
ers are  Americans ;  they  are  ministers  of  religion ; 
have  nothing  to  do  with  war  or  politics,  and  came  to 
Ava  in  obedience  to  the  King's  command.  They 
have  never  done  anything  to  deser\^e  such  treatment, 
and  is  it  right  they  should  be  treated  thus?" 

"  The  King  does  as  he  pleases ;  I  am  not  the  King; 
what  can  I  do?  " 

"  You  can  state  their  case  to  the  Queen,  and  obtain 
their  release.  Place  yourself  in  my  situation  ;  were 
you  in  America,  your  husband,  innocent  of  ciime, 
thrown  into  prison,  in  irons,  and  you,  a  solitary,  un- 
protected female,  what  would  you  do?  " 

With  a  slight  degree  of  feeling  she  said,  "  I  will 
present  your  petition ;  come  again  to-morrow." 


A    MKMORIAlv.  163 

Mrs.  Judson  returned  to  her  house  with  consider- 
able hope  that  the   missionaries   would    be  released; 
hopefulness  being  her  main-stay.     But  before  it  was 
time  to  return  for  the  reply  from  the  Queen,  an  act  of 
confiscation  was  committed  on  the  property  of  Mr. 
Gouger,  to  the  amount  of  fifty  thousand  rupees,  and 
it  was   carried  to  the  palace.     The  officers  on  their 
return  politely  informed  her  that  her  house  would  be 
visited  on  the  following    day;    whether   they  did  so 
tauntingly,  or  with  a  view  to  receiving  gifts,  or  through 
respect,  does  not  appear.     She  felt  much  obliged  for 
the  information,  and  forthwith  proceeded  to  secrete  as 
many  articles  as  she  possibly  could,  together  with  con- 
siderable silver ;  for  should  the  war  be  protracted  the 
money  would  be  needed  to  enable  them  to  avoid  star- 
vation.    It  was  very  hazardous  to  practice  secretive- 
ness  in  such  a  case,  because,  had  she  been  detected  in 
it  she  might  have  been  thrown  into  prison.     Her  mind 
was  greatly  agitated  in  consequence  of  the  attempt  to 
save  her  own  goods  and  money,  and  had  she  thought 
It  possible  to  procure  means  from  any  other  quarter 
she  would  not  have  ventured  on  such  a  step. 

What  must  have  been  her  feelings  of  dismay  and 
uncertamty  when,  on  the  following  morning,  the  royal 
treasurer,  the  governor  of  the  north  gate  of  the  palace 
and  another  nobleman,  with  a  retinue  of  forty  or  fifty, 
came  to  take  possession  of  all  that  she  and  her  hus- 
band owned  !  What  other  woman  could  have  endured 
the  coming,  not  to  mention  the  irruption  and  plun- 
dering? It  may  have  been  an  important  part  of  the 
Heavenly  Father's  care  that  she  was  notified,  and  yet 
she  would  doubtless  have  commanded  her  powers  to 


164  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

good  advantage  had  she  been  surprised;  As  it  was 
she  treated  the  three  officers  and  one  of  the  royal 
secretaries,  who  alone  entered  the  house,  wdth  such 
civility  as  the  circumstances  suggested.  She  gave 
them  chairs  to  sit  on,  and  tea  and  sweetmeats  for  their 
refreshment ;  and  they  conducted  the  confiscation  with 
more  respect  for  her  feelings  than  would  have  been 
expected  of  Burmese  officers  on  such  an  errand. 
They  saw  that  she  was  deeply  affected,  and  apologized 
for  what  they  were  doing  by  saying  that  it  was  pain- 
ful for  them  to  take  possession  of  property  not  their 
own,  but  that  they  were  compelled  thus  to  do  by  order 
of  the  King. 

"Where  are  your  silver,  gold,  and  jewels?"  said 
the  royal  treasurer. 

"  I  have  no  gold  or  jewels,"  she  replied,  "  but  here 
is  the  key  of  a  trunk  that  contains  the  silver.  Do 
with  it  as  you  please."  When  the  trunk  had  been 
produced  and  the  silver  weighed,  she  added :  "  This 
money  was  collected  in  America  by  the  disciples  of 
Christ,  and  sent  here  for  the  purpose  of  building 
a  kyoung  (the  name  of  a  priest's  dwelling),  and  for 
our  support  while  teaching  the  religion  of  Christ. 
Is  it  suitable  that  you  should  take  it?" 

The  Burmese  being  averse  to  taking  what  is 
offered  in  a  religious  point  of  view,  they  felt  the  force 
of  the  objection  so  skillfully  and  properly  presented, 
and  said  they  would  mention  the  circumstance  to  the 
King,  and  that  perhaps  he  would  restore  it.  "  But  is 
this  all  the  silver  you  have?" 

"The  house  is  in  your  possession;  search  for 
vourselves." 


A   MKMORIAI,.  165 

"  Have  you  not  deposited  silver  with  some  person 
of  your  acquaintance  ?  " 

"My  acquaintances  are  all  in  prison;  with  whom 
should  I  deposit  silver?  " 

They  next  ordered  her  trunks  and  drawers  to  be 
examined,  but  the  secretary  only  was  allowed  to 
accompany  her  in  the  search.  Everything  nice  or 
curious  that  met  his  view,  was  shown  to  the  officers 
for  their  decision,  whether  it  should  be  taken  or  left. 
She  begged  that  they  would  not  take  the  wearing 
apparel,  because  it  would  be  disgraceful  to  take  clothes 
partly  worn,  into  the  presence  of  His  Majesty,  while 
to  the  family  they  were  of  unspeakable  value.  They 
assented  and  took  a  list  only,  as  they  did  with  the 
books,  medicines,  etc.  Her  little  work-table  and  rock- 
ing chair,  presents  from  a  beloved  brother,  she  man- 
aged to  rescue  from  their  grasp,  partly  by  artifice  and 
partly  through  their  ignorance.  They  also  left  many 
articles  that  were  of  inestimable  value  during  the  long 
imprisonment  that  ensued. 

The  search  and  confiscation  being  finished,  and  the 
officials  having  departed,  Mrs.  Judson  left  her  broken 
house,  as  if  it  were  nothing  to  be  deplored  when  com- 
pared with  the  interests  at  the  prison,  and  hastened 
to  the  Queen's  brother  to  learn  the  outcome  of  her 
petition.  Failure  again  !  His  wife,  with  much  indiffer- 
ence, said  that  she  had  stated  the  case  to  the  Queen, 
who  replied,  *'  The  teachers  will  not  die ;  let  them  re- 
main as  they  are."  This  was  crushing,  as  her  hope 
had  been  quite  sanguine,  notwithstanding  the  disap- 
pointments before  experienced.  And  now,  since  the 
Queen  had  refused  assistance,  who  would  dare  to  inter- 


l66  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

cede  for  her?  With  a  heavy  heart  she  turned  away, 
and  on  her  way  home  attempted  to  enter  the  prison 
gate  to  communicate  the  result  to  her  husband — tid- 
ings in  nowise  calculated  to  alleviate  his  feelings  or 
soften  the  boards  on  which  he  lay — but  she  was  harsh- 
ly refused  admittance,  and  for  ten  days  after,  in  spite 
of  daily  efforts,  she  was  not  allowed  to  enter.  She 
attempted  to  communicate  by  writing,  and  after  being 
successful  for  a  few  days  the  practice  was  detected ; 
and  the  poor  fellow  who  carried  the  writing  was  beaten 
and  put  in  the  stocks,  while  the  affair  cost  her  about 
ten  dollars,  besides  two  or  three  days  of  agony  through 
fear  of  the  consequences. 

In  presenting  the  seized  property  to  His  Majesty, 
the  officers  remarked,  "Judson  is  a  true  teacher;  we 
found  nothing  in  his  house  but  what  belongs  to 
priests.  In  addition  to  this  money  there  are  an  im- 
mense number  of  books,  medicines,  trunks  of  wearing 
apparel,  etc.,  of  which  we  have  only  taken  a  list. 
Shall  we  take  them,  or  let  them  remain?"  *'  Let  them 
remain,"  said  the  King,  "  and  put  this  property  by  it- 
self, for  it  shall  be  restored  to  him  again  if  he  is  found 
innocent."    He  was  supposed  to  be  a  spy. 

For  two  or  three  months  following,  Mrs.  Judson 
was  subject  to  continual  annoyances,  partly  through 
ignorance  of  police  management,  and  partly  through 
the  insatiable  desire  of  every  petty  officer  to  enrich 
himself  through  her  misfortunes.  The  officers  who 
confiscated  the  property  insisted  on  knowing  how 
much  she  had, given  the  governor  and  prison  officers 
to  release  the  teachers  from  the  inner  prison.  On  be- 
ing informed,  they  demanded  the  sum  from  the  gov- 


A   MEMORIAL.  167 

ernor,  which  threw  him  into  a  dreadful  rage,  and  he 
threatened  to  put  all  the  prisoners  back.  This  cir- 
cumstance made  it  necessary  for  her  to  visit  him  and 
settle  the  disturbance.  On  approaching  him,  his  first 
words  were:  "You  are  very  bad;  why  did  you  tell 
the  royal  treasurer  that  you  had  given  me  so  much 
money."  She  replied,  "  The  treasurer  inquired  ;  what 
could  I  say?"  "Say  that  you  had  given  nothing," 
said  he,  "  and  I  would  have  made  the  teachers  comfort- 
able in  prison  ;  but  now  I  know  not  what  will  be  their 
fate."  "  But  I  cannot  tell  a  falsehood ;  my  religion 
differs  from  yours — it  forbids  prevarication,  and  had 
you  stood  by  me  with  your  knife  raised,  I  could  not 
have  said  what  you  suggest."  His  wife,  who  sat  by 
his  side,  and  who  always,  from  this  time,  continued  her 
firm  friend,  instantly  said,  "  Very  true ;  what  else  could 
she  have  done  ?  I  like  such  straightforward  conduct. 
You  must  not  be  angry  with  her." 

Mrs.  Judson  then  presented  the  governor  with  a 
beautiful  opera-glass,  which  she  had  just  received  from 
England,  and  begged  that  his  anger  toward  her  would 
not  cause  him  to  treat  the  prisoners  with  unkindness, 
promising  to  make  him  presents  from  time  to  time  to 
compensate  him  for  his  loss.  He  said  that  she  might 
intercede  for  her  husband  only,  and  that  for  her  sake 
he  should  remain  where  he  was:  "but  let  the  other 
prisoners  take  care  of  themselves."  She  plead  hard 
for  Dr.  Price,  but  he  would  not  listen,  and  the  same 
day  remanded  him  to  the  inner  prison,  where  he  re- 
mained ten  days  ;  after  which  time  he  was  taken  out, 
on  the  promise  of  the  doctor  to  give  him  a  piece  of 
broadcloth,  and  on  receiving  from  her  two  pieces  of 
handkerchiefs. 


l68  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 

At  about  this  time  she  was  officially  summoned  to 
the  Lut-d'hau.  What  new  evil  was  now  at  hand  she 
could  not  imagine.  On  arriving  she  was  allowed  to 
stand  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  contrary  to  custom,  or 
law,  which  prohibits  females  from  ascending  the  steps 
or  even  standing  at  the  foot,  and  compels  them  to  sit 
on  the  ground.  Hundreds  were  collected  around.  The 
presiding  officer,  in  an  authoritative  manner  began : 
"Speak  the  truth  in  answer  to  the  questions  I  shall 
ask.  If  you  speak  true,  no  evil  will  follow ;  but  if  not, 
your  life  will  not  be  spared.  It  is  reported  that  you 
have  committed  to  the  care  of  a  Burmese  officer  a 
string  of  pearls,  a  pair  of  diamond  ear-rings,  and  a  sil- 
ver tea-pot.  Is  it  true?"  "It  is  not;  and  if  you,  or 
any  other  person,  can  produce  these  articles,  I  refuse 
not  to  die."  The  officer  again  urged  the  necessity  of 
"  speaking  true."  She  told  him  she  had  nothing  more 
to  say  in  reference  to  the  matter,  and  begged  him  to 
use  his  influence  to  obtain  the  release  of  Mr.  Judson. 
Mrs.  Judson  returned  to  her  house,  breathing  more 
freely,  glad  of  another  peril  passed,  yet  fully  conscious 
that  other  troubles  awaited  her.  The  anticipation  of 
unknown  difficulties  and  persecutions,  however  cause- 
less, had  come  to  be  a  habit  of  mind,  which  itself  op- 
pressed her,  as  a  present  trouble.  And  yet  her  re- 
peated exertion  of  mind  in  the  contrivance  of  new 
means  of  relief  served  as  a  counter-exercise,  banishing 
the  spedlres  of  the  imagination  by  the  introduction  of 
some  important  purpose.  It  may  safely  be  believed 
that  either  some  special,  new  besetment,  or  a  well- 
founded  fear  of  some  annoyance,  or  a  severe  strain  of 
mind  in  planning  for  the  exigencies  of  her  daily  life 


A   MKMORlAt.  169 

was  the  constant,  crucial  condition  under  which  her 
hours,  weeks  and  months  passed  tediously  away. 

The  repulse  of  the  Queen  was  "  like  a  thunder- 
clap to  her  feelings ;"  and,  in  the  matter  of  releasing 
the  prisoners,  who  would  venture  to  come  after  the 
Queen?  Still  she  would  not  and  could  not  slacken 
her  endeavors.  Prison-relief  had  come  to  be  her  oc- 
cupation; and  while  becoming  inured  to  it,  in  some 
respects,  it  continually  assumed  new  and  repulsive, 
and  even  alarming  features,  and  if  one  lost  a  degree 
of  its  horror  by  being  often  met,  something  shocking 
was  sure  to  make  up  the  deficiency.  One  disappoint- 
ment, also,  was  followed  b}^  another.  Yet  in  her  mind 
nothing  could  stand  before  exertion.  And  although 
she  had  made  the  round  of  those  in  influence,  and  had 
been  suspected  and  summoned  for  imagined  duplicity 
when  trjdng  to  satisfy  the  rapacity  of  those  in  power, 
yet,  with  a  clear  conscience  and  a  sense  of  the  great- 
ness and  justness  of  her  cause,  she  had  the  courage 
to  repeat  the  steps  in  which  she  had  failed.  Time 
after  time  she  visited  the  Queen's  sister-in-law,  not 
desisting  until  she  had  exhausted  her  patience — till 
she  refused  to  answer  a  question,  and  signified  in  her 
looks  that  her  importunate  visitor  had  better  keep  out 
of  her  presence. 

For  the  seven  succeeding  months  she  visited, 
almost  daily,  some  one  of  the  members  of  the  gov- 
ernment, or  branches  of  the  royal  family,  in  order  to 
gain  their  influence.  The  magnitude  of  such  a  ser- 
vice in  the  cause  of  the  prisoners,  taken  with  what 
else  she  was  compelled  to  do  for  them,  added  to  the 
care  of  herself  and  the  little  girls  she  had  undertaken 


lyo  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

to  educate,  may  well  appall  the  minds  of  even  those 
who  at  this  far-off  day  come  to  a  knowledge  of  the 
facts.  It  was  a  constant  embassadry  of  love,  an 
unceasing  effort  at  diplomacy  with  a  hostile  power  in 
whos"^  hands  she  and  all  her  interests  rested.  What 
could  she  find  as  a  support  for  her  hopes  during  that 
protracted  series  of  visitations  ?  What,  to  save  her  from 
an  expectation  or  a  fear  of  violence,  the  ripened  fruit 
of  impatience?  She  secured  nothing  as  the  reward  of 
her  pains  except  an  occasional  encouraging  promise; 
but  this  seemed  to  save  her  from  despair  and  to  alle- 
viate her  otherwise  hopeless  situation,  when  taken  in 
connection  with  the  fact  that  she  had  gained  several 
friends  who  w^ere  ready  to  assist  her  with  articles  of 
food,  in  a  private  manner,  and  who  used  their  influ- 
ence in  the  palace  to  destroy  the  impression  that  the 
missionaries  were  in  some  way  engaged  in  the  war.  No 
one  dared  to  speak  a  word  to  the  King  or  to  the  Queen 
in  favor  of  a  foreigner  while  there  were  such  continual 
reports  of  the  success  of  the  English  arms. 

And  during  this  long  period  Mrs.  Judson  was 
obliged  to  keep  her  mind  fixed  also  on  the  constantly 
recurring  necessities  of  Mr.  Judson,  and  to  do  her  ut- 
most to  furnish  the  relief.  He  and  the  other  white 
prisoners  were  subjected  to  extortions  and  oppressions 
which  distressed  herself  as  well  as  them.  Sometimes 
sums  of  money  were  demanded ;  sometimes  pieces  of 
cloth  and  handkerchiefs,  for  which  the  Burmans 
seemed  to  have  an  insatiable  desire.  Then  an  order 
w^ould  be  issued  that  they  should  not  speak  to  each 
other,  nor  hold  communication  with  their  friends  with- 
out ;  and  that  servants  should  not  carry  in  their  food 


A   MEMORIAL.  171 

without  an  extra  fee.  For  days  and  days  together 
Mrs.  Judson  could  not  go  into  the  prison  until  after 
dark,  and  when  through  with  her  visit  she  had  two 
miles  to  walk  in  returning  to  her  home,  if  a  place 
might  be  called  home,  which  had  been  stripped  of 
its  requisites  and  pleasant  things,  of  testimonials  and 
souvenirs  from  different  lands,  and  robbed  of  the  in- 
spiring presence  of  its  "  head,"  who  was  not  dead — 
for  death  could  have  been  borne — but  who  was 
wearing  felon-chains,  and  was,  all  the  time,  in  ex- 
treme distress.  As  if  in  view  of  what  her  home 
was  not,  she  ordinarily  referred  to  it  as  "  the  house." 
It  was  her  resting-place,  in  case  the  civil  commotion 
and  her  cares  did  not  deprive  her  of  rest.  When 
through  at  the  prison  she  sought  its  precarious  shelter 
and  well-nigh  sepulchral  gloom.  Night  after  night 
she  returned  from  that  dreary  prison,  at  a  late  hour, 
flitting  through  the  darkness,  herself  its  most  expres- 
sive impersonation.  Only  the  faint  hope  of  a  dawn 
sustained  her  weary  steps ;  and  even  with  that,  solitary, 
fatigued  and  worn  with  anxiety,  she  often  threw  her- 
self down  in  her  house  and  tried  to  devise  some  new 
scheme  for  the  release  of  the  prisoners.  There  she 
might  have  been  found,  after  ten  o'clock,  sitting  in  the 
rocking-chair,  provided  for  her  in  Boston,  and  which 
she  resolutely  saved  in  the  confiscation  ;  and  with  only 
a  moment's  glance  toward  the  land  of  which  it  re- 
minded her,  giving  herself  to  the  study  of  ways  and 
means  of  relief  from  existing  troubles.  Sometimes 
she  slept— for  "  He  giveth  His  beloved  sleep  "—and 
was  thus  recruited  for  another  day's  struggle. 


172  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

The  Burmese  government  was  now  prosecuting 
the  war  with  all  its  energy  and  conceited  prowess. 
New  troops  were  being  dispatched  southward  to  the 
seat  of  war,  while  reports  of  their  loss  were  continu- 
ally received.  Bandoola,  however,  was  having  some 
success  in  Arracan,  and  the  King  called  him  home  in 
order  to  give  him  the  more  difficult  command  of  the 
army  sent  to  Rangoon.  He  was  believed  to  under- 
stand the  art  of  fighting  with  foreigners,  and  Avas 
flattered  with  all  conceivable  attentions,  even  to  the 
relinquishment  of  the  duties  of  the  throne  to  his 
temporary  kingship.  Mrs.  Judson,  determined  to  miss 
no  opportunity,  resolved,  against  the  advice  "of  some 
members  of  the  government,  to  apply  to  him  for  the 
release  of  the  missionaries.  She  was  told  that  in 
reminding  him  of  their  existence,  she  would  expose 
them  to  execution.  But  it  was  her  last  hope  and,  as 
it  proved,  her  last  application. 

Mr.  Judson  framed  the  petition  privately,  stating 
every  circumstance  that  would  be  likely  to  interest 
him  in  their  behalf,  and  she,  with  fear  and  trembling, 
approached  him,  while  he  was  surrounded  by  a  crowd 
of  flatterers.  One  of  his  secretaries  took  the  petition 
and  read  it  aloud.  After  hearing  it,  he  asked  several 
questions,  spoke  to  her  in  an  obliging  manner,  said  he 
would  think  of  the  subjecft,  and  bade  her  come  again. 
She  was  overjoyed,  and  ran  to  the  prison  to  tell  Mr. 
Judson  of  the  favorable  reception,  and  both  then  en- 
tertained sanguine  hopes  of  an  early  release.  But  the 
governor  of  the  city  expressed  his  amazement  at  her 
rashness  and  his  conviction  that  it  would  be  the  means 
of  destroying  all  the  prisoners.     Not  daunted  by  the 


A    MEMORIAI,.  173 

Opinions  or  prophecies  of  others,  she  visited  Ban- 
doola  again,  in  a  day  or  two,  taking  a  present  of  con- 
siderable value.  He  was  not  at  home,  but  his  lady, 
after  ordering  the  present  taken  to  another  room, 
modestly  informed  her  that  she  was  ordered  by  her 
husband  to  say  that  he  was  very  busy  in  preparing  for 
Rangoon,  and  that  after  he  had  retaken  that  place  he 
would  return  and  release  all  the  prisoners.  The 
foreigners  knew  how  to  look  for  results  at  Rangoon ; 
and  if  a  Burmese  victory  there  was  to  be  the  condition 
of  their  relief,  their  future  was  dark  indeed. 

With  their  hopes  all  shattered  they  could  only  sit 
down  and  submit  to  their  lot.  They  must  await  the 
termination  of  the  war.  But  meantime  the  condition 
of  the  prisoners  must  be  made  tolerable,  if  such  a 
thing  might  be,  and  to  this  end  Mrs.  Judson  still  con- 
tinued to  visit  the  officials,  with  presents.  She  usually  - 
spent  the  greater  part  of  every  other  day  at  the  gover- 
nor's house,  giving  him  particular  information  concern- 
ing American  manners,  customs,  government,  etc.;  and 
her  unflagging  perseverance  w^as  rewarded  in  exciting 
in  his  mind  great  interest -in  her  communications,  so 
that  he  felt  greatly  disappointed  whenever  any  occur- 
rence interfered  with  her  visitation.  Such  was  her 
social  power,  even  under  great  depression  of  mind. 

During  the  period  under  review,  the  white  men 
wore  three  pairs  of  fetters,  which  were  so  constructed 
and  applied  as  to  give  a  very  little  freedom  to  the  feet ; 
they  could  walk,  with  their  ankles  a  few  inches  apart, 
and  were  permitted  to  go  about  the  prison-yard,  fol- 
lowed by  their  keepers.  And  through  the  exertions 
of  Mrs.  Judson  they  were  permitted,  for  the  most  of 


174  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

the  time,  to  spend  the  day  in  the  open  shed  in  the 
yard.  The  same  good  angel  obtained  permission  to 
build  a  little  bamboo-room,  in  the  inclosure,  where 
her  husband  could  be  b}^  himself  for  a  part  of  the 
time,  and  where  she  was  allowed  sometimes  to  spend 
two  or  three  hours.  This  expedient  was  a  great  relief 
to  him,  who  was  so  fastidiously  nice  in  his  habits  that 
promiscuous  herding  was  almost  intolerable,  particu- 
larly in  the  Ava  prison ;  and  it  gave  him  temporary 
shelter  from  the  cold  which  at  the  time  was  felt  in  the 
open  shed.  But  it  was  too  much  of  a  luxury  ;  it  was 
not  long  to  be  enjoyed. 

An  interruption  of  the  angel-visits  of  Mrs.  Judson 
now  took  place.  For  some  months  the  anticipated 
birth  of  a  child  had  occupied  the  parents'  minds,  caus- 
ing peculiar  solicitude.  Mr.  Judson's  anxiety,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  solitary  situation  in  which  his  wife  was 
to  be  placed  by  the  customs  of  the  country,  culminated 
in  "  the  gloomiest  forebodings."  But  the  crisis  passed 
safel}^  and  the  little  one  was  presented  for  his  wel- 
come at  the  door  of  the  prison — a  beam  to  enlighten 
his  countenance,  and  a  shaft  to  pierce  his  heart,  in 
view  of  the  dread  uncertainty  of  the  future.  For 
twenty  days  the  mother  did  not  appear  at  the  jail  with 
her  benefactions,  and  when  she  came  with  little  Maria 
in  her  arms,  there  seemed  to  be  no  new  occasion  for 
solicitude.  Mr.  Judson  came  forward  in  his  manacles, 
under  the  power  of  the  new  attraction,  and  was  forced 
back  again  as  usual;  while  she,  after  improving  the 
precious  moments  of  the  interview  to  the  highest  ad- 
vantage, retraced  the  two  miles  of  beaten  path,  with 
her  added  charge,  and  the  routine  of  tribulation 
went  on. 


A   MEMORIAI..  175 

In  her  "  Reminiscences  of  Conversations  with  Mr. 
Judson,"  Mrs.  B.  C.  Judson  mentions  the  following 
interesting  circumstance : 

Mrs.  Judson  had  long  previous  to  this  adopted  the  Burmese 
style  of  dress.  Her  rich  Spanish  complexion  could  never  be 
mistaken  for  the  tawny  hue  of  the  native;  and  her  figure, 
of  full  medium  height,  appeared  much  taller  and  more  com- 
manding in  a  costume  usually  worn  by  women  of  inferior 
size.  But  her  friend,  the  governor's  wife,  who  presented  her 
with  the  dress,  had  recommended  the  measure  as  a  concession 
which  would  be  sure  to  conciliate  the  people,  and  win  them 
to  a  kindlier  treatment  of  her.  Behold  her,  then— her  dark 
curls  carefully  straightened,  drawn  back  from  her  forehead, 
and  a  fragrant  cocoa-blossom,  drooping  like  a  white  plume 
from  the  knot  upon  the  crown ;  her  saffron  vest  thrown  open 
to  display  the  folds  of  crimson  beneath;  and  a  rich  silken 
skirt,  wrapped  closely  about  her  fine  figure,  parting  at  the 
ankle,  and  sloping  back  upon  the  floor.  The  clothing  of  the 
feet  was  not  Burman,  for  the  native  sandal  could  not  be  worn 
except  upon  a  bare  foot. 

It  was  understood  by  the  writer  of  the  above  that 
our  heroine  presented  herself  in  this  costume  when 
she  brought  to  the  prison  the  birdling  of  her  "  Indian 
nest"  for  its  father's  recognition,  and  to  emphasize  the 
cheer.  Her  sentiment  was  aptly  expressed  by  an 
unknown  poet: 

"A  springing  joy, 
A  pleasure  which  no  language  can  express, 
An  ecstasy  that  mothers  only  feel, 
Plays  round  my  heart,  and  brightens  up  my  sorrow, 
Like  gleams  of  sunshine  in  a  low'ring  sky." 

The  little  daughter  bore  the  honored  name  of 
Maria  Butterworth,  doubtless  in  recognition  of  friends 
in  England. 


176  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

XIV. 

l^<tX—OUNG-PEN-LA. 

Love  can  hope  where  reason  would  despair. 

Lord  LvTTEiyTON. 

"Ah!  whither  should  we  flee  for  aid, 
When  tempted,  desolate,  dismayed; 
Or  how  the  hosts  of  hell  defeat, 
Had  suffering  saints  no  mercy-seat?" 

OTHER  experiences  were  soon  to  be  added,  to 
break  the  uniformity.  Monotony  of  suffering 
is  exceedingly  irksome,  and  ofttimes  the  intervention 
of  a  new  feature,  even  though  more  distressing,  is  not 
an  unwelcome  change.  The  prisoners  had  been  in 
three  pairs  of  fetters  for  seven  weary  months,  when 
they  were  suddenly  loaded  with  five  pairs,  and  thrust 
into  the  inner  prison.  The  little  bamboo  shelter  was 
ruthlessly  torn  away,  and  the  mat,  pillow,  and  other 
little  comforts  were  seized  by  the  jailers.  The  hand 
that  provided  them,  with  a  dexterity  worthy  of  a  bet- 
ter opportunity  and  better  means,  was  absent  and  em- 
ployed in  a  service  still  more  loving  and  of  greater 
moment  to  Mr.  Judson  than  any  performed  at  the  jail. 
And  when  Maria  was  two  months  old  a  report  of  the 
new  inflictions  was  sent  to  Mrs.  Judson,  who  was 
greatly  shocked  by  it,  as  it  seemed  to  her  to  be  pro- 
phetic of  still  greater  evils.  Events  of  the  war  con- 
firmed  her   fears.     Bandoola   had   been   defeated,    his 


A    MEMORIAI..  177 

army  destroyed,  and  the  court  thrown  into  consterna- 
tion ;  and  the  EngHsh  forces  were  marching  on  in  the 
direction  of  the  capital.     This  disaster  to  the  Burman 
army  was  the  immediate  cause  of  the  closer  confine- 
ment of   the    prisoners,  which  was   attended  by  new 
forms  of  distress.     Mrs.  Judson  now  resumed  her  ef- 
forts with  the  officers  for  the  amelioration  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  prisoners.     She  went  immediately  to  the 
house  of  the  governor,  who  was  not  at  home,  but  had 
left  orders  with  his  wife  to  tell  her  not  to  ask  for  the 
removal  of  the  additional   fetters,    for  //  could  not  be 
done.     She  then  went  to  the  prison-gate,  but  was  for- 
bidden to  enter.    "All  was  still  as  death— not  a  white 
face  to  be  seen,  or  a  vestige  of  Mr.  Judson's  little  room 
remaining."     She   determined   again   to  see  the  gov- 
ernor, and  for  this  purpose    returned    into  town  the 
same  evening,  at  an  hour  when  she  knew  he  would  be 
at  home.     He  was  in  his  audience  room,  and,  as  she 
entered,  looked  up  without  speaking,  and  exhibited  a 
sense  of  shame  and  affected  anger.     He  understood  his 
visitor,  and,  without  doubt,  she  was  the  only  foreigner 
in  the  Empire  who  could  persistently  besiege  him  for 
such  an  objedl  as  she  was  trying  to  gain.     She  had  the 
elements  of  character  that  warded  off  brutaHty  and  as- 
sured respect,  even  with  uncivilized  officials,  and  after 
she  had  wearied  them  by  her  continual  coming.     She 
broke  the  silence  by  saying : 

"Your  lordship  has  hitherto  treated  us  with  the 
kindness  of  a  father.  Our  obligations  to  you  are  very 
great.  We  have  looked  to  you  for  protection  from 
oppression  and  cruelty.  You  have  in  many  instances 
mitigated  the  sufferings  of  those  unfortunate,  though 


178  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

innocent,  beings  committed  to  your  charge.  You 
have  promised  me  particularly  that  you  would  stand 
by  me  to  the  last,  and  though  you  should  receive  an 
order  from  the  King,  you  would  not  put  Mr.  Judson 
to  death.  What  crime  has  he  committed  to  deserve 
such  additional  punishment?" 

The  old  man's  hard  heart  was  melted,  for  he  wept 
like  a  child.  "I  pity  you,  Tsa-3'ah-ga-dau" — a  name 
by  which  he  always  called  her — "  I  knew  you  would 
make  me  feel;  I  therefore  forbade  your  application. 
But  you  must  believe  me  when  I  say  I  do  not  wish  to 
increase  the  sufferings  of  the  prisoners.  When  I  am 
ordered  to  execute  them,  the  least  that  I  can  do  is  to 
put  them  out  of  sight.  I  will  now  tell  you  what  I 
have  never  told  3^ou  before — that  three  times  I  have 
received  intimations  from  the  Queen's  brother  to  assas- 
sinate all  the  white  prisoners  privately,  but  I  would 
not  do  it.  And  I  now  repeat  it,  though  I  execute  all 
the  others  I  will  never  execute  3^our  husband.  But  I 
cannot  release  him  from  his  present  confinement,  and 
you  must  not  ask  it." 

In  view  of  the  governor's  manner  and  decision,  she 
could  but  conclude  that  dreadful  scenes  were  at  hand. 
The  condition  of  the  prisoners  was  already  distressing, 
beyond  description.  One  hundred  of  the  general  class 
were  shut  up  together,  with  no  air,  except  what  found 
its  way  into  the  den  between  the  siding;  the  season 
was  hot,  the  fevered  breaths  and  the  exudations  fetid, 
and  the  ordinary  belongings  of  such  a  place  as  impure 
as  they  could  well  be.  The  foreigners,  after  being 
stripped  of  half  their  clothing,  were  hurled  into  this 
repulsive  crowd,  stretched  on  the  floor,  and,  ''strung" 


A    MEMORIAL.  1 79 

on  a  bamboo  pole,  which  was  run  between  their  legs 
in  a  manner  to  make  one  leg  bear  the  weight  of  the 
pole  and  the  weight  and  fetter  of  the  other.  With 
this  added  torment  it  was  whispered  through  the  pris- 
on that  the  foreigners  would  be  led  out  to  execution 
at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Thoughts  of  the  dear 
one  at  "the  house"  were  uppermost  in  Mr.  Judson's 
mind,  but  he  concluded  that  his  death  would  end  her 
sufferings,  in  part,  while  liberating  him  completely. 
The  night  passed,  and,  for  some  cause,  the  let-mah-yoon 
(the  unshrinking  hand)  did  not  fall  upon  them.  Mrs. 
Judson's  forebodings,  however,  were  doubtless  well 
founded.  From  this  time  she  occasionally  obtained 
permission  to  go  to  the  door  for  five  minutes,  when 
her  heart  sickened  at  the  sight.  The  white  prisoners 
appeared  more  like  the  dead  than  the  living.  She  still 
made  daily  applications  to  the  governor,  but  with  no 
other  effect  than  to  gain  permission  for  the  foreigners 
to  eat  their  food  outside,  and  this  privilege  continued 
but  a  short  time. 

After  being  thus  imprisoned  for  a  month  or  more, 
Mr.  Judson  was  taken  with  fever.  Mrs.  Judson  felt 
the  new  emergency  that  had  arisen,  and  in  order  to 
meet  it  she  removed  from  her  house  and  erected  a 
small  bamboo  room  in  the  governor's  inclosure,  nearly 
opposite  the  prison  gate,  where  for  a  time  she  re- 
mained. There  she  resumed  her  importunities  for 
relief,  and  by  and  by  the  governor,  worn  out  by  her 
entreaties,  gave  her  an  order  for  the  removal  of  her 
husband  to  a  more  comfortable  situation,  and  an  order 
for  free  admission  to  administer  medicines  and  other 
necessaries.     This  success  made  her  happy  indeed,  and 


l8o  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

very  soon  he  was  placed  in  a  little  bamboo  hovel,  too 
low  to  admit  ol  an  upright  posture,  but  a  palace  in 
comparison  with  what  he  had  left.  She,  herself,  car- 
ried in  the  food,  for  the  sake  of  an  interview,  and 
would  remain  an  hour  or  two,  unless  driven  out. 

The  story  of  the  caged  lion,  the  symbol  of  British 
Royalty,  tortured  to  death  by  slow  starvation,  within 
the  immediate  view  of  the  prisoners,  is  as  pathetic  as 
it  is  familiar.  Within  the  iron  bars  from  which  death 
released  it,  Mr.  Judson  begged  to  be  placed  as  a  special 
relief;  and  there  his  loving  wife  ministered  to  him  in  a 
manner  befitting  an  angel,  though  barely  possessed  of 
means  by  which  to  save  him  from  the  lion's  fate. 

About  this  time  Bandoola  died,  or  was  cut  off. 
The  event  produced  universal  consternation.  In  the 
palace  and  in  the  streets  of  the  town  a  lamentation 
went  up.  Who  would  undertake  to  lead  the  armies 
after  the  fall  of  the  invincible  Bandoola !  The  com- 
mon people,  from  whom  had  been  exacted  the  entire 
amount  requisite  to  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  were 
muttering  rebellion.  At  length  the  pakan-woon,  who 
had  previously  been  disgraced  and  incarcerated,  of- 
fered his  services,  with  great  promises ;  and  he,  being 
known  to  be  a  man  of  great  ability,  and  a  violent 
enemy  of  all  foreigners,  was  entrusted  with  supreme 
command. 

Mrs.  Judson  could  expect  nothing  good  from  this 
new  movement,  yet  she  and  her  husband  were  in 
a  comparatively  comfortable  situation  for  a  few  days. 
Then,  one  morning,  having  carried  in  his  food,  and 
having  remained  somewhat  longer  than  usual,  she 
received  a  request  from  the  governor  to  appear  in  his 


A   MKMORIAI..  l8l 

presence,  with  haste.  Her  alarm  was  allayed  when  he 
informed  her  that  he  only  wished  to  consult  her  in 
regard  to  his  watch,  and  he  seemed  to  be  unusually 
agreeable  and  sociable.  But  she  afterward  learned 
that  he  merely  wished  to  detain  her  until  a  new  act 
in  the  prison  scenes  should  be  passed. 

When  she  left  the  governor  to  return  to  her  room, 
she  was  met  by  one  of  the  servants,  who,  with  a  ghastly 
countenance,  informed  her  that  all  the  white  prison- 
ers had  been  carried  away.  She  could  not  credit  the 
report,  and  went  back  to  the  governor  to  make  in- 
quiry concerning  it,  who  replied  that  he  had  just  heard 
of  it.  She  then  ran  into  the  street,  hoping  to  get  a 
glimpse  of  them  before  they  were  out  of  sight,  but 
was  disappointed.  Running  from  one  street  to  an- 
other she  inquired  of  all  she  met,  but  no  one  would 
answer  her,  till,  finally,  an  old  w^oman  told  her  that 
the  white  prisoners  had  gone  toward  the  little  river, 
and  were  to  be  carried  to  Amarapura.  She  then  ran 
to  the  banks  of  that  stream,  about  half  a  mile,  but  did 
not  see  them,  and  concluded  that  she  had  been  de- 
ceived. Some  of  their  friends  went  to  the  place  of 
execution,  but  they  were  not  there.  She  went  back  to 
the  governor  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  their  removal, 
and  the  probability  of  their  future  fate,  and  the  old 
man  assured  her  that  he  was  ignorant  of  the  intention 
of  the  government  until  that  morning,  and  that,  since 
she  went  out,  he  had  learned  that  they  were  to  be  sent 
to  Amarapura,  but  for  what  purpose  he  knew  not. 
''  I  will  send  off  a  man  immediately,"  said  he,  "  to  see 
what  is  to  be  done  with  them.  You  can  do  nothing 
more  for  your  husband ;  ^a/:e  care  of  yourself '' 


l82  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

The  governor,  with  all  his  knowledge  of  her  zeal 
and  courage,  was  not  aware  of  the  resources  of  her  na- 
ture not  yet  exhausted ;  or,  he  may  have  considered 
the  prisoners'  doom  already  sealed.  His  advice  was 
friendly,  but  to  take  care  of  herself  was  a  secondary 
object,  so  long  as  Mr.  Judson  was  not  knowm  to  have 
been  cared  for.  She  went  to  her  room  and  sank  down 
almost  in  despair,  indeed,  for  there  was  nothing  in 
sight  to  incite  her  to  exertion.  Her  feelings  at  the 
moment  are  thus  described  by  herself: 

For  several  da3-s  previous  I  had  been  actively  engaged  in 
building  my  own  little  room,  and  making  our  hovel -comfort- 
able. My  thoughts  had  been  almost  entirely  occupied  in 
contriving  means  to  get  into  prison.  But  now  I  looked 
toward  the  gate  with  a  kind  of  melancholy  feeling,  but  no 
wish  to  enter.  All  was  the  stillness  of  death ;  no  preparation 
of  Mr.  Judson's  food,  no  expectation  of  meeting  him  at  the 
usual  dinner  hour ;  all  my  occupations,  all  my  employment 
seems  to  have  ceased,  and  I  had  nothing  left  but  the  dreadful 
recollection  that  he  was  carried  off,  I  knew  not  whither.  It 
was  one  of  the  most  insupportable  days  I  ever  passed.  To- 
ward night,  however,  I  came  to  the  determination  to  set  off 
the  next  morning  for  Amarapura,  and  for  this  purpose  was 
obliged  to  go  to  our  house  out  of  town. 

Never  before  had  I  suffered  so  much  from  fear  in  travers- 
ing the  streets  of  Ava.  The  last  words  of  the  governor, 
"Take  care  of  yourself,"  made  me  suspect  that  there  was 
some  design  with  which  I  was  unacquainted.  I  saw,  also,  that 
he  was  afraid  to  have  me  go  into  the  streets,  and  he  advised 
me  to  wait  till  dark,  when  he  would  send  me  in  a  cart,  and 
a  man  to  open  the  gates.  I  took  two  or  three  trunks  of  the 
most  valuable  articles,  together  with  the  medicine  chest,  to 
deposit  in  the  house  of  the  governor;  and  after  committing 
the  house  and  premises  to  our  faithful  Moung  Ing,  and  a  Ben- 
galee servant,  who  continued  with  us,  though  we  were  unable 
to  pay  his  wages,  I  took  leave,  as  I  then  thought  probable, 
of  our  house  in  Ava  forever. 


A    MKMORIAI..  183 

On  returning  to  the  governor  she  found  a  servant 
of  Mr.  Gouger  who  had  followed  the  prisoners  when 
they  were  led  away,  and  who  informed  her  that  they 
had  been  taken  before  the  lamine-woon,  at  Arhara- 
pura,  and  were  to  be  sent  next  day  to  a  village  be- 
yond. She  was  somewhat  relieved  to  learn  that  Mr. 
Judson  was  still  alive,  yet  was  distressed  with  anxiety 
as  to  what  was  to  be  done  with  him.  Next  morning, 
after  obtaining  a  pass  from  the  government,  she  took 
little  Maria,  then  only  three  months  old,  Mary  and 
Abby  Hasseltine  (two  of  the  Burman  children),  and 
the  Bengalee  cook,  who  was  the  only  one  of  the  party 
able  to  render  her  any  assistance,  and  set  out  for  Ama- 
rapura,  six  miles  distant.  The  day  was  dreadfully 
hot,  but  having  obtained  a  covered  boat  they  were 
tolerably  comfortable  until  they  left  the  river;  then 
they  rode  in  a  cart  to  the  government  house,  two 
miles,  which  passage,  in  consequence  of  the  violent 
motion  of  the  vehicle,  with  the  heat  and  dust,  made 
her  "almost  distracted."  Another  disappointment 
awaited  her;  the  prisoners  had  been  driven  on  two 
hours  before,  and  the  cartman  refused  to  go  any  far- 
ther. After  waiting  an  hour  in  the  burning  sun,  she 
procured  another  cart,  and,  with  the  babe  still  in  her 
arms,  urged  her  way  on  for  four  miles  more,  to  that 
"never-to-be-forgotten  place,  Oung-pen-la." 

She  obtained  a  guide  from  the  governor,  and  was 
conducted  directly  to  the  prison-yard.  What  a  scene 
of  wretchedness  was  there  presented  to  her  view! 
The  prison  was  an  old  shattered  building,  without  roof 
or  fence ;  though  some  Burmese  were  on  the  top,  try- 
ing to  make  something  like  a  covering,  by  means  of 


184  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

leaves.  Under  a  low  projection,  outside,  sat  the  for- 
eigners, chained  two  and  two  as  they  had  been  driven, 
almost  dead  from  suffering ;  less  one,  the  poor  Greek, 
who  was  unequal  to  the  heat  and  the  abuse  of  the 
way,  and  had  died  at  Amarapura.  Mr.  Judson  looked 
up  as  Mrs.  Judson  approached,  and  said,  "  Why  have 
you  come?  I  hoped  you  would  not  follow,  for  you 
cannot  live  here."  But  he  had  learned  to  expect  that 
her  love  and  bravery  would  carry  her  wherever  he 
went,  if  she  were  needed,  and  it  were  at  all  possible, 
and,  of  course,  he  was  not  altogether  surprised. 

Night  was  at  hand,  and  she  was  destitute  of  pro- 
visions for  the  prisoners  and  for  herself,  and  without 
shelter  for  her  little  family.  She  tried  her  familiar 
expedient — permission  to  put  up  a  little  bamboo  house 
near  the  prison — but  it  failed ;  the  jailer  said  it  was 
not  customary.  She  then  begged  the  jailer  to  procure 
for  her  a  shelter  for  the  night,  hoping  to  obtain  some- 
thing more  permanent  on  the  morrow.  He  took  her 
to  his  own  house,  which  contained  but  two  small 
rooms;  one  of  these  his  family  occupied,  and  the 
other,  a  store-room  for  grain,  he  gave  to  her,  and  that 
little  filthy  place  was  her  abode  for  the  next  six 
months.  Worn  out  by  her  hard  journey,  she  spread 
a  mat  over  the  paddy  and  threw  herself  down  upon 
it  to  get  a  little  rest. 

The  next  morning  .she  endeavored  to  find  some- 
thing answering  the  description  of  food,  but  there 
was  nothing  to  be  procured.  However,  one  of  Dr. 
Price's  friends  brought  some  cold  rice  and  vegetable 
curry  from  Amarapura,  which,  with  a  cup  of  tea, 
answered  for  the  breakfast  of  the  prisoners;  and  for 


A   MEMORIAL.  185 

dinner  she  made  a  curry  of  dried  salt  fish.  All  the 
money  she  could  command  had  been  brought,  secreted 
on  her  person.  In  view  of  the  uncertain  length  of 
the  war,  the  extortions,  of  the  jailers,  and  such  exi- 
gencies as  to  food  and  illness  as  had  thus  far  attend- 
ed their  prison  life,  her  financial  condition  was  not 
flattering. 

At  this  time  her  personal  bodily  sufferings  began. 
The  very  morning  after  her  arrival  at  Oung-pen-la, 
one  of  the  little  girls,  Mary  Hasseltine,  was  taken 
with  the  small-pox,  the  natural  way.  Though  very 
young,  she  was  the  only  assistant  in  taking  care  of 
little  Maria ;  and  now  she  requiredr  all  of  Mrs.  Judson's 
time  that  could  possibly  be  spared  from  Mr.  Judson, 
whose  fever,  setting  in  at  Ava  prison,  had  continued, 
and  whose  feet  were  so  dreadfully  blistered  and  lacer- 
ated by  the  forced  march  over  the  hot  sand  and  gravel 
that  for  several  days  he  was  unable  to  move.  She 
could  not  procure  assistance  or  medicine,  and  all  day 
long  she  traveled  from  the  house  to  the  prison,  back 
and  forth  with  the  child  in  her  arms.  The  small-pox 
began  to  spread.  She  herself  had  nearly  a  hundred 
pustules ;  for,  notwithstanding  that  she  had  been  vac- 
cinated before  leaving  America,  the  interval  had  been 
long,  and  she  had  been  constantly  exposed.  But  there 
was  compensation  for  this  new  trial.  She  commenced 
to  vaccinate  the  children,  and  presently  her  fame  in 
that  practice  spread  throughout  the  village,  and  every 
child,  young  and  old,  who  had  not  previously  had  the 
small-pox,  was  brought  to  her  for  inoculation.  She 
was  unacquainted  with  the  disorder,  but  she  could 
achieve  success  by  the  use  of  the  needle  in  vaccina- 
ting and  by  instrucfting  the  patients  as  to  diet. 


l86  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

Mr.  Judson's  health  was  gradually  restored,  and  he 
was  much  more  comfortably  situated  than  when  in  the 
city  prison.  The  prisoners,  at  first  chained  two-and- 
two,  were  separated,  and  each  wore  but  one  pair.  The 
prison  was  repaired,  and  a  large,  airy  front  shed  was 
constructed,  in  which  they  were  permitted  to  remain 
during  the  day.  All  of  the  children  recovered  from 
the  small-pox,  but  Mrs.  Judson's  watchings  and 
fatigue,  together  with  her  miserable  food  and  more 
miserable  lodgings,  brought  on  one  of  the  diseases  of 
the  country,  which  is  almost  always  fatal  to  foreigners. 
Her  constitution  was  affected,  and  she  became  so  weak 
as  to  be  scarcely  able  to  walk  to  the  prison.  In  this 
debilitated  state  she  set  off  in  a  cart  for  Ava,  to  procure 
medicines  and  food.  She  reached  the  house  in  safety, 
and  for  two  or  three  days  the  disorder  seemed  at  a 
stand ;  after  which  it  became  so  violent  as  to  destroy 
her  hope  of  recovery,  and  her  chief  anxiety  then  was 
to  return  to  Oung-pen-la,  and  die  near  the  prison.  It 
was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  she  obtained  the 
medicine-chest  from  the  governor,  with  whom  it  had 
been  deposited,  and  then  she  had  no  one  to  administer 
the  medicines.  She,  however,  got  the  laudanum,  and 
by  taking  two  or  three  drops  at  a  time  for  several 
hours,  the  complaint  was  so  far  checked  that  she  was 
enabled  to  get  on  board  a  boat,  though  too  weak  to 
stand,  and  again  to  set  out  for  Oung-pen-la.  As  be- 
fore, the  last  four  miles  was  in  that  wonderful  convey- 
ance, the  cart,  and  the  rainy  season  was  in  progress, 
when  the  mud  almost  buries  the  oxen.  The  Burmese 
cart,  it  will  be  remembered,  consisted  simply  of  small 
wheels    cut    from    thick    planks,    with   axletree   and 


A   MEMORIAL.  jgy 

tongue,  and  a  body  resting  on  them.  In  America  it 
would  be  called  a  jolt-cart,  and  it  proved  to  be  that  to 
Mrs.  Judson,  who  barely  survived  the  ride. 

On  reaching  Oung-pen-la,  the  good  native  cook,  to 
whom  she  had  entrusted  her  cares  during  her  absence, 
came  out  to  help  her  into  the  house,  and  he  was  so 
shocked  by  her  emaciated  appearance  that  he  burst 
into  tears.     She  crawled  onto  the  mat  in  her  forlorn 
little  room,  where  she  was  confined  ^or  more  than  two 
months;    and   she   did   not   fully   recover   until   after 
removal  to  the  English  camp.     At  this  time  both  she 
and  Mr.  Judson  must  have  died  from  their  sufferings, 
had  it  not  been  for  "the  faithful  and  affectionate  care 
of  the  Bengalee  cook,"  who  seemed  to  forget  his  caste 
and  his  own  wants  in  his  efforts  to  serv^e  them.     Some 
days   he  did   not   taste  of  food    until   near  night,  in 
consequence  of  having  to  go  some  distance  for  wood 
and  water,  and  in  order  to  have  Mr.  Judson's  dinner 
in  readiness  promptly.     He    never  complained,  never 
asked  for  his  wages,  never  for  a  moment  hesitated  to 
go  anywhere  or  to  do  anything  required.     He  contin- 
ued with  the  family,  it  seems,  through  the  remainder 
of  Mrs.  Judson's  life,  and  his  important  services  may 
be  mentioned  as  a  gracious  provision  of  the  Divine 
Hand— an  ignoble  instrumentality  for  a   great  emer- 
gency—duplicated  many  times  in  this  world,  in  ob- 
scured  circumstances.       God   is   not   unrighteous   to 
forget  such  labor  of  love. 

At  this  time,  also,  little  Maria,  the  child  of  her  trib- 
ulations, was  the  greatest  sufferer  of  all.  On  account 
of  her  own  illness  she  could  not  give  her  the  nourish- 
ment natural  to  her,  and  she  could  not  obtain  a  nurse 


l88  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

or  a  drop  of  milk  in  the  village.  As  a  last  expedient, 
she  devised  a  mode  of  getting  assistance  from  the 
mothers  of  the  neighborhood  who  were  nursing  chil- 
dren; and  having  resorted  to  the  old  and  effective 
method  of  influencing  the  jailers — the  giving  of  gifts 
— she  obtained  permission  for  Mr.  Judson  to  come  out 
of  the  prison  and  carry  the  pitiable  creature  from  door 
to  door,  begging  milk  from  maternal  breasts.  What 
straits!  Parents  from  an  enlightened  land,  Christian 
and  cultured  parents  seeking  to  prolong  the  existence 
of  their  offspring  through  the  "tender  mercies"  of 
begrimmed  pagan  females! 

Mrs.  Judson  now  began  to  think,  more  than  ever 
before,  that  "the  very  afflictions  of  Job"  had  come 
upon  her.  The  cries  of  her  child  in  the  night  were 
heart-rending ;  she  could  not  supply  her  wants.  When 
in  health  she  could  bear  her  trials  and  pass  through 
all  vicissitudes  with  strength  of  heart,  but  now,  to  be 
sick  and  disabled  from  helping  dear  ones  in  distress, 
w^as  almost  too  much  for  her  to  bear.  Sometimes  the 
jailers  seemed  a  little  softened  at  the  distress  they  wit- 
nessed, and  for  several  days  together  allow^ed  Mr.  Jud- 
son to  go  to  the  hoUvSe  and  spend  the  hours  with  his 
family,  which  was  "an  unspeakable  consolation"  at 
this  particular  time.  Then,  again,  as  if  there  were  no 
occasion  for  compassion,  or  to  make  an  offset  for  the 
special  privilege  granted,  they  would  be  iron-hearted 
in  their  demands,  and  would  annoy,  extort,  and  oppress 
beyond  description. 

Some  time  after  their  arrival  at  Oung-pen-la  the 
prisoners  learned  of  the  object  for  which  they  had 
been  sent  there,  viz. :  their  sacrifice  to  the  god  of  war ; 


A  me;moriai,. 


189 


probably  by  fire,  according  to  current  belief  at  the 
time  they  were  driven  away  from  the  Ava  prison,  and 
agreeably  to  their  own  convidlions  when  they  arrived 
and  saw  the  lack  of  adequate  provision  for  safe  incar- 
ceration. The  pakan-woon,  the  new  head  of  the 
army,  an  unscrupulous  wretch,  intended  witnessing 
the  horrid  scene,  but  he  himself  was  executed  for  his 
treachery  to  the  government,  and  his  diabolical  pur- 
poses were  not  carried  out.  There  was  universal  re- 
joicing at  his  death,  and  the  lives  of  the  missionaries 
were  thus  spared.  Various  attempts  were  made  to 
subdue  the  English  forces,  which  were  marching  to- 
ward the  capital  and  conquering  as  they  went,  but  the 
commanders  did  not  meet  with  success,  and  each  one 
in  the  succession  was  weakened  at  heart  and  in  reality 
by  the  failures  going  before.  And  even  the  adling 
King,  who  had  been  induced  to  take  command,  and  in 
whom  great  hopes  had  been  reposed,  was  too  cowardly 
to  do  so  much  as  to  approach  the  enemy.  The  Bur- 
mese were  ready  to  make  terms  of  peace. 

Six  months  had  been  passed  by  the  missionaries  at 
Oung-pen-la,  when  the  Providential  Hmit  of  their  stay 
at  that  "  never-to-be-forgotten  place"  was  reached.  An 
official  order  came  for  Mr.  Judson's  release.  It  was  re- 
ceived in  the  evening,  and  on  the  following  morning, 
with  gladness  of  heart,  Mrs.  Judson  began  to  prepare 
for  an  early  departure.  What  was  her  surprise  at  being 
met  by  the  jailers  with  an  objection  to  her  going. 
Their  avarice  had  not  yet  been  satisfied,  and  it  was  not 
likely  to  be,  so  long  as  her  supply  of  desirable  goods  or 
money  should  hold  out.  They  claimed  that  the  order 
did  not  include  her,  but  she,  seeing  her  opportunity  to 


190  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

assert  her  rights,  found  herself  amply  supplied  with 
the  courage  to  do  so ;  she  insisted  that  she  was  not  a 
prisoner,  and  that  they  had  no  authority  over  her. 
They  determined  that  she  should  not  leave,  and  for- 
bade the  villagers  to  lend  her  a  cart.  Before  the  dis- 
pute ended,  Mr.  Judson  was  taken  from  the  prison  and 
brought  to  the  jailer's  house,  where,  by  promises  and 
threatenings  he  gained  consent  for  her  to  go,  on  con- 
dition that  the  remainder  of  the  provisions  she  had  re- 
cently received  from  Ava  should  be  left.  The  conces- 
sion was  more  galling  than  the  price  paid. 

By  noon  the  stricken  little  family  were  allowed  to 
depart  toward  Ava,  glad  of  what  appeared  to  be  free- 
dom, yet  not  knowing  what  might  befall  them  there. 
The  order  for  release  no  doubt  included  the  requisition 
to  report  at  the  capital;  because,  on  reaching  Amara- 
pura,  he  was  conducted  to  the  governor  of  the  city, 
and  by  him  placed  under  another  guard  which  con- 
veyed him  to  the  court-house  in  Ava,  at  which  place 
he  arrived  sometime  in  the  night.  Mrs.  Judson  took 
another  course  from  Amarapura;  she  obtained  a  boat 
and  went  down  the  river  to  her  house,  reaching  it 
before  dark. 

The  next  morning  she  went  in  search  of  Mr.  Jud- 
son ;  a  course  which  she  must  have  anticipated,  and  a 
pursuit  with  which  she  was  by  no  means  unacquainted. 
But  what  was  her  mortification  on  finding  him  again 
imprisoned !  She  followed  the  thread  of  investigation 
with  which  she  was  so  familiar,  going  first  to  her  old 
friend,  the  governor  of  the  city,  who  was  now  holding 
the  rank  of  a  woon-gyee.  From  him  she  learned  that 
Mr.  Judson  was  to  be  sent  to  the  Burmese  camp,  to 


A    MEMORIAL.  191 

act  as  a  translator  and  interpreter,  and  that  he  was  in 
durance  only  until  his  affairs  were  settled.  The  next 
morning  she  went  to  the  same  source  of  information 
again,  and  learned  that  he  had  just  received  twenty 
ticals  from  the  government,  with  orders  to  go  immedi- 
ately on  board  a  boat  for  Maloun  (Mah-looan),  and 
there  to  act  in  the  above  capacity.  Hastening  back  to 
the  house,  she  had  the  privilege  of  welcoming  her 
husband  to  his  family  once  more ;  in  this  case  a  satis- 
faction of  a  character  and  an  intensity  rarely  experi- 
enced in  this  world. 


192  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

XV. 
^matt^  0f  l^tatt—DIRE  DISTRESS, 

He  restoreth  my  soul. — Ps.  23  : 3. 

No  bliss  I'll  seek,  but  to  fulfill 

In  life,  in  death,  Thy  perfect  will ; 

No  succors  in  my  woes  I  want, 

But  what  my  Lord  is  pleased  to  grant. 

Madame  Guyon. 

THE  joy  granted  to  saints  whose  cup  of  affliction 
is  not  full,  is  very  brief;  and  in  the  case  of  Mrs. 
Judson  it  was  attended  with  active  preparation  for 
another  separation.  She  must  prepare  food  and  cloth- 
ing for  his  future  comfort  amid  the  contingencies  of 
army  life.  He  had  permission  to  vStop  for  only  a  few 
minutes,  when  he  was  hurried  away  and  "crowded 
into  a  little  boat,  where  he  had  not  room  sufficient  to 
lie  down,  and  where  his  exposure  to  the  cold,  damp 
nights  threw  him  into  a  violent  fever  which  had 
nearly  ended  all  his  sufferings.  He  arrived  at  Maloun 
on  the  third  day,  w^here,  ill  as  he  was,  he  was  obliged 
to  enter  immediately  upon  the  work  of  translating. 
He  remained  at  Maloun  six  weeks,  suffering  as  much 
as  he  had  at  any  time  in  prison,  excepting  that  he  was 
not  in  irons,  nor  exposed  to  the  insults  of  those  cruel 
jailers." 

Mrs.  Judson,  for  a  little  time  not  advised  as  to  her 
husband's  health,  was  measurably  relieved  of  the  dis- 


A    MEMORIAI,.  193 

tressing  anxiety  she  had  experienced.  Being  well 
aware  that  the  Government  officers  would  too  highly 
appreciate  his  services  to  justify  them  in  doing  him 
violence,  and  that  he  was  coming  into  a  position  to  be 
petitioned  by  them,  she  turned  attention  upon  herself, 
as  it  was  necessary  she  should  do.  Relaxation  of  the 
terrible  strain  of  previous  months  was  naturally  fol- 
lowed by  such  a  seeming  luxation  as  to  bring  out  all 
her  ailments  and  make  way  for  others.  Her  health 
declined  daily,  and  ere  long  she  was  seized  with  the 
spotted  fever,  "w.ith  all  its  attendant  horrors."  Know- 
ing the  nature  of  this  disease,  and  the  shattered  state 
of  her  constitution,  and  being  in  want  of  medical  as- 
sistance, she  concluded  that  it  must  prove  fatal.  Yet 
her  solicitude  was  much  abated,  on  the  day  she  was 
taken,  by  the  appearance  of  a  Burmese  nurse  who 
offered  her  services  for  Maria.  This  provision  for  the 
exigency,  after  repeated  failures  on  her  own  part  to 
secure  such  a  person,  gave  her  renewed  confidence  in 
the  God  of  Providence,  and  thus  fortified  her  soul  for 
new  trials.  The  fever  raged  with  violence  and  with- 
out intermission ;  and  she  contemplated  settling  all 
her  worldly  affairs,  entrusting  her  little  daughter  to 
the  care  of  a  Portuguese  woman,  and  so  be  ready 
for  the  worst.  But  while  her  plans  were  maturing, 
her  reason  failed ;  she  was  shut  up  in  deepest  dark- 
ness, and  the  tumultuous  world  went  on  its  way  regard- 
less of  its  imperilled  treasure. 

.At  this  critical  juncture  Dr.  Price  was  released 
from  prison,  and,  hearing  of  her  illness,  obtained  per- 
mission to  go  and  visit  her.  He  undertook  to  treat 
the  case,  afterward  testifying   that  he   did   not   then 


194  -^^N    H-   JUDSON. 

think  she  could  survive  many  hours,  and  that  her  situ- 
ation was  the  most  distressing  he  had  ever  witnessed. 
The  fever  had  run  for  seventeen  days,  and  her  head 
was  shaved  and  bHsters  were  appHed  to  both  head  and 
feet ;  also,  the  Bengalee  servant  was  instru(5led  to  en- 
deavor to  persuade  her  to  take  a  little  nourishment, 
which  for  several  days  she  had  obstinately  refused. 
One  of  her  first  recollections,  after  reason  again 
dawned,  was  the  presence  of  this  faithful  nurse  at  her 
side,  trying  to  induce  her  to  take  a  little  wine  and 
water.  She  was  so  far  gone  that  the  Burmese  neigh- 
bors, who  had  come  in  to  see  her  expire,  said,  "  She  is 
dead;  and  if  the  King  of  Angels  should  come  in,  he 
could  not  recover  her." 

In  Mr.  Judson's  reminiscences  of  her  dreadful  sit- 
uation, even  after  the  return  of  consciousness,  is  found 
the  following  statement,  couched  in  the  expressive 
language  of  Mrs.  Emily  C.  Judson.  The  description 
covers  his  first  entrance  to  his  house,  after  his  final 
release : 

With  a  step  more  fleet  than  for  the  past  two  j^ears  he 
had  practiced,  and  in  spite  of  the  maimed  ankles  which  some- 
times almost  refused  their  office,  he  hurried  along  the  street 
to  his  beloved  home.  The  door  stood  invitingly  open,  and, 
without  having  been  seen  by  any  one,  he  entered.  The  first 
object  which  met  his  eye  was  a  fat,  half-naked  Burman 
woman,  squatting  in  the  ashes  beside  a  pan  of  coals,  and 
holding  on  her  knees  a  wan  baby,  so  begrimmed  with  dirt 
that  it  did  not  occur  to  the  father  that  it  could  be  his  own. 
He  gave  but  one  hasty  look,  and  hurried  to  the  next  room. 
Across  the  foot  of  the  bed,  as  though  she  had  fallen  there, 
lay  a  human  object,  that,  at  the  first  glance,  was  scarcely  more 
recognizable  than  his  child.  The  face  was  of  a  ghastly  pale- 
ness, the  features  sharp,  and  the  whole  form  shrunken  almost 


A    MEMORIAL.  195 

to  the  last  degree  of  emaciation.  The  glossy  black  curls  had 
all  been  shorn  from  the  finely  shaped  head,  which  was  now 
covered  by  a  closely-fitting  cotton  cap,  of  the  coarsest  and 
— unlike  anything  usually  coming  in  contact  with  that  head- 
not  the  cleanest  kind.  The  whole  room  presented  an  appear- 
ance of  the  very  extreme  of  wretchedness,  more  harrowing  to 
the  feelings  than  can  be  told.  There  lay  the  devoted  wife, 
who  had  followed  him  so  unweariedly  from  prison  to  prison, 
ever  alleviating  his  distresses,  without  eve|i  common  hireling 
attendance.  He  knew,  by  the  very  arrangement  of  the  room, 
and  by  the  expression  of  sheer  animality  on  the  face  of  the 
woman  who  held  his  child,  that  the  Bengalee  cook  had  been 
her  only  nurse.  The  wearied  sleeper  was  awakened  by  a 
breath  that  came  too  near  her  cheek.  Perhaps  a  falling  tear 
might  have  been  added;  for,  steady  as  were  those  eyes  in 
difficulties,  dauntless  in  dangers,  and  stern  when  conscience 
frowned,  they  were  well  used  to  tender  tears. 

Mrs.  Judson  now  began  to  recover  slowly,  but  it 
was  more  than  a  month  after  the  recovery  of  her 
reason  before  she  was  able  to  stand.  And  while  in 
this  helpless  condition,  the  servant  who  had  followed 
Mr.  Judson  to  the  Burmese  camp  came  in,  and  in- 
formed her  that  his  master  had  arrived  and  had  been 
conducted  to  the  court-house.  Thereupon  she  sent  off 
a  Burman  to  watch  the  movements  of  government, 
and  to  ascertain,  if  possible,  in  what  way  he  was  to  be 
disposed  of  Returning,  he  reported  that  he  saw  him 
go  out  of  the  palace  yard,  accompanied  by  two  or 
three  Burmans,  who  conducted  him  to  one  of  the 
prisons,  and  that  it  was  reported  in  town  that  he  was 
to  be  sent  back  to  Oung-pen-la.  She  was  too  weak  to 
bear  ill  tidings  of  any  kind ;  "  but  a  shock  so  dreadful 
as  this,"  she  says,  "  almost  annihilated  me.  For  some 
time  I  could  hardly  breathe,  but  at  last  gained  suffi- 


196  ANN    H.   JUDSON.  , 

cient  composure  to  dispatch  Moung  Ing  to  our  friend, 
the  governor  of  the  north  gate,  and  begged  him  to 
make  one  more  effort  for  the  release  of  Mr.  Judson,  and 
prevent  his  being  sent  back  to  the  country  prison, 
where  I  knew  he  must  suffer  much,  as  I  could  not  fol- 
low. Moung  Ing  then  went  in  search  of  Mr.  Judson ; 
and  it  was  nearly  dark  when  he  found  him  in  the  in- 
terior of  an  obscure  prison.  I  had  sent  food  early  in 
the  afternoon;  but  being  unable  to  find  him,  the 
bearer  had  returned  with  it,  which  added  another  pang 
to  my  distresses." 

While  Mrs.  Judson  was  on  her  feet,  whatever  the 
degree  of  her  health,  she  would  follow  her  husband  at 
all  hazards,  and  always  minister  to  his  wants  in  prefer- 
ence to  her  own.  And  she  could  scarcely  acquiesce  in 
circumstances  of  inability  to  see  him,  and  to  know 
what  his  necessity  might  be.  As  it  was  said  of  him, 
so  it  was  with  her,  she  could  do  better  than  she 
could  endure.  Only  her  deep  piety,  her  unbounded 
confidence  in  Divine  Providence,  saved  her  from  com- 
plaining when  she  was  hedged  in  and  could  know  of 
his  situation  only  by  hearsay,  and  the  tidings  some- 
times difficult  of  interpretation.  The  present  was  a 
time  in  which  she  must  acquiesce,  and  in  her  prostrate 
condition  she  had  the  Everlasting  Arm  to  lean  upon, 
and  the  consciousness  of  access  to  a  court  from  which 
she  would  never  be  spurned.  Her  very  pleadings 
seemed  to  bear  with  them  the  assurance  of  answer  in 
some  form,  and  the  promises  furnished  resting  to  her 
wearied  soul. 

It  was  true  that  Mr.  Judson  was  ordered  back  to 
Oung-pen-la,  there  being  much  confusion  in  the  mind 


A   MEMORIAL.  197 

of  the  presiding  officer,  just  then,  as  to  who  he  was. 
When  told  that  he  came  from  that  place,  he  replied, 
"lyct  him  be  returned  thither."  But  Mrs.  Judson's 
old  helper,  the  governor,  whose  friendship  she  had 
gradually  and  permanently  secured,  by  her  lady-like, 
yet  firm  diplomacy,  came  forward  with  a  petition  to 
the  high  court  of  the  Empire  for  his  release,  offering 
himself  as  his  security ;  and  he  prevailed.  With  Mrs. 
Judson  on  the  one  part,  and  this  old  governor,  Moung- 
shwa-loo,  on  the  other,  all  movements  were  made  that 
availed  anything  toward  the  amelioration  of  the  pris- 
oners' condition  during  their  long  confinement  and 
for  their  final  liberation,  and  she,  in  reality,  drilled  and 
cultivated  him  in  the  practice  of  court  appeals  and  of 
humaneness  toward  the  suffering.  He  was  ever  after- 
ward a  better  man  for  having  become  acquainted  with 
her,  and  it  would  seem  that  he  was  superior  to  his 
race,  as  she  was  to  hers.  He  took  Mr.  Judson  to 
his  own  house  and  treated  him  kindly,  he  being  in  his 
charge. 

Meantime  the  English  were  pressing  their  way 
northward  toward  the  capital,  creating  the  utmost 
consternation.  And  still  the  Burmese  held  out,  reject- 
ing all  the  overtures  of  Sir  Archibald  Campbell,  filled 
with  the  conceit  that  they  were  the  lords  of  the 
nations,  and  believing  that  they  would  yet  drive  the 
English  from  the  country.  They  continued  in  the 
greatest  possible  activity,  pressing  men  and  beasts 
into  work  on  the  defenses,  strengthening  the  old  and 
erecting  new.  Whatever  buildings  were  in  the  way 
were  wantonly  torn  down,  and  this  destruction  in- 
cluded Mr.  Judson's  house,   with  his   beautiful  little 


IQS  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 

compound,  which  was  turned  into  a  road  and  a  place 
for  the  erection  of  cannon.  Mrs.  Judson  had  been  re- 
moved to  the  governor's  house  on  the  improvement  of 
her  health,  and,  after  that  knew  no  more  of  "  house  " 
or  home  in  Ava. 

After  six  weeks  of  residence  with  the  governor, 
Mr.  Judson  was  forced  to  aid  in  negotiating  for  peace, 
a  business  on  which  Dr.  Price  had  been  dispatched 
twice,  and  with  whom  he  was  to  be  associated.  The 
Burmese  affairs  were  in  a  state  of  desperation.  Ex- 
citement ran  high,  and  on  the  return  of  the  deputation 
and  the  announcement  of  the  terms,  the  government 
w^as  disappointed  and  incensed,  and  it  accused  the  mis- 
sionaries of  not  trying  to  make  the  terms  favorable  to 
the  Burmans.  They  must  go  again,  and  they  were 
threatened  that  they  and  their  families  should  suffer, 
unless  they  made  the  English  give  better  conditions. 
In  the  interval,  another  desperate  general  undertook 
the  subjugation  of  the  English,  and  returned  with  the 
usual  shame  of  defeat,  and  was  condemned  to  be  exe- 
cuted on  account  of  it,  but  was  cruelly  killed  before 
he  could  reach  the  fatal  block. 

The  second  attempt  at  negotiation  on  Mr.  Judson's 
part  (the  fourth  by  Dr.  Price,  who  rather  desired  the 
office  of  mediation),  onl}^  made  matters  worse.  The 
English  were  incensed,  and  were  still  threatening  the 
capital  by  a  closer  approach.  And,  added  to  previous 
demands,  Mr.  Judson  was  commissioned  to  require  the 
release  of  all  the  remaining  foreigners  who  should 
desire  release ,  of  whatever  country,  and  to  question 
them  concerning  their  wishes  in  the  presence  of  the 
Burmese  government.     It   was   so   done,  and  he  had 


A   ME^MORIAI,,  IQQ 

the  happiness  to  release  the  very  last  of  his  fellow- 
prisoners. 

In  the  negotiation  preceding  the  last,  the    British 
general  had  authorized  Dr.  Price  to  demand  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Judson  and  Maria.     When  this  order  was  com- 
municated  to  the  King,  he  replied :    "  They  are   not 
Knghsh;  they  are  my  people,  and  shall  not  go."     The 
answer  had  some  appearance  of  plausibility,  in  view  of 
the  representations  that  Mrs.  Judson  had  made  from 
time  to  time,  while  a  natural  jealousy  arose  on  their 
account.     Besides,  the  King  had  become  impressed  as 
to    the  importance    of   such  people  in  his  kingdom; 
especially  the  value  of  Mr.  Judson's  services,  who  had 
been  in  his  employ  as  commissioner  and  interpreter 
for  three  months.     Mrs.  Judson  felt  convinced  at  this 
time   that   they  never  would   be  released  from  Ava. 
But  at  the  final  test  of  the  foreigners'  desires,  before 
referred  to,  members  of  the  government  placed  them- 
selves in  the  attitude  of  beggars.     They  said  to  Mr. 
Judson,  -You  will  not  leave  us;  you  shall  become  a 
great  man  if  you  will  remain ;  "  and  this  made  it  seem 
possible  to  go  or  to  stay.     Mr.  Judson  avoided   the 
odmm  of  saying  he  wished  to  leave  the  service  of  His 
Majesty,  by   referring  to  the  order  of  Sir  Archibald 
Campbell,  that  whoever  desired  to  depart  should  be 
given  up;  and  inasmuch  as  Mrs.  Judson  expressed  a 
wi^h  to  go,  It  would  be  necessary  for  him  to  go  also. 
The   prisoners   at  Oung-pen-la,"  says   Mrs.  Judson, 
'were  all  released,  and  either  sent  to  their  houses,  or 
down  the  river  to  the  English;  and  in  two  days  from 
the  time  of  Mr.  Judson's  return,  we  took  an  affection- 
ate leave  of  the  good-natured  officer  who  had  so  long 


200  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 

entertained  us  at  his  house,  and  who  now  accompanied 
us  to  the  water-side,  and  we  then  left  forever  the  banks 
of  Ava.  It  was  on  a  cool,  moonlight  evening,  in  the 
month  of  March,  that  with  hearts  filled  with  gratitude 
to  God,  and  overflowing  with  joy  at  our  prospe(5ls,  we 
passed  down  the  Irrawaddy,  surrounded  by  six  or 
eight  golden  boats,  and  accompanied  by  all  we  had  on 
earth."  It  was  in  allusion  to  this  departure  that  Mr. 
Judson  made  the  characteristic  remarks  contained  in 
the  reminiscences  of  Mrs.  Emily  C.  Judson : 

Oue  evening  several  persons  at  our  house  were  repeating 
anecdotes  of  what  different  men  in  different  ages  regarded 
as  the  highest  type  of  sensuous  enjoyment ;  that  is,  enjoy- 
ment derived  from  outward  circumstances.  "Pooh!"  said 
Mr.  Judson;  "these  men  were  not  qualified  to  judge.  I 
know  of  a  much  higher  pleasure  than  that.  What  do  you 
think  of  floating  down  the  Irrawaddy,  on  a  cool,  moon- 
light evening,  with  your  wife  by  your  side  and  your  baby 
in  your  arms,  free — all  free !  But  yoii  cannot  understand  it, 
either  ;  it  needs  a  twenty-one  months'  qualification,  and  I  can 
never  regret  my  twenty-one  months  of  misery,  when  I  recall 
that  one  delicious  thrill.  I  think  I  have  had  a  better  appreci- 
ation of  what  heaven  may  be  ever  since." 

Mrs.  Judson's  experience  corresponded  fully  to  that 
of  her  husband.  With  a  capacity  for  suffering  and  for 
happiness  fully  equal  to  his,  and  for  discerning,  as 
well,  the  transition  from  one  of  these  states  to  the 
other,  with  its  "  delicious  thrill,"  she  had,  likewise,  the 
joy  of  achievement— a  whole  series  of  victories  run- 
ning through  the  twenty-one  months,  in  which  he 
could  be  only  a  passive  participator.  And  the  good 
fight  was  fought  in  behalf  of  a  number  of  persons — 
prisoners  whose   only  dependence  for   a   gentle   and 


A    MEMORIAI,.  20I 

grateful  service  was  placed  in  this  frail  yet  mighty 
woman,  who  was  constantly  ill  and  all  the  while  over- 
whelmed with  domestic  cares.  She  made  pagans  quail 
and  weep.  She  reached  the  end — cowed  unreasonable 
officers,  alleviated  distress,  and  continued  her  ministry 
of  love  and  heroism  until  the  oppressed  were  set  free. 
In  harmony  with  this  statement  is  the  following 
tribute  of  one  of  the  prisoners,  an  enterprising  Eng- 
lish merchant : 

Mrs.  Judson  was  the  author  of  those  eloquent  and  forcible 
appeals  to  the  government,  which  prepared  them  by  degrees 
for  submission  to  terms  of  peace,  never  expected  by  any  who 
knew  the  hauteur  and  inflexible  pride  of  the  Burman  court. 

And  while  on  this  subject,  the  overflowings  of  grateful 
feelings,  on  behalf  of  myself  and  fellow-prisoners,  compel 
me  to  add  a  tribute  of  public  thanks  to  that  amiable  and  hu- 
mane female,  who,  though  living  at  a  distance  of  two  miles 
from  our  prison,  without  any  means  of  conveyance,  and  very 
feeble  in  health,  forgot  her  own  comfort  and  infirmity,  and 
almost  every  day  visited  us,  sought  out  and  administered  to 
our  wants,  and  contributed  in  every  way  to  alleviate  our 
misery. 

While  we  were  all  left  by  the  government  destitute  of  food, 
she,  with  unwearied  perseverance,  by  some  means  or  other,  ob- 
tained for  us  a  constant  supply.  When  the  tattered  state  of 
our  clothes  evinced  the  extremity  of  our  distress,  she  was  ever 
ready  to  replenish  our  scanty  wardrobe.  When  the  unfeeling 
avarice  of  our  keepers  confined  us  inside,  or  made  our  feet 
fast  in  the  stocks,  she,  like  a  ministering  angel,  never  ceased 
her  applications  to  the  government,  until  she  was  authorized 
to  communicate  to  us  the  grateful  news  of  our  enlargement, 
or  of  a  respite  from  our  galling  oppressions.  Besides  all  this, 
it  was  unquestionably  owing,  in  a  chief  degree,  to  the  re- 
peated eloquence  and  forcible  appeals  of  Mrs.  Judson,  that 
the  untutored  Burman  was  finally  made  willing  to  secure  the 
welfare  and  happiness  of  his  country,  by  a  sincere  peace. 


202  ANN   H.   JUDSON. 

To  show,  further,  the  self-forgetfulness  of  Mrs.  Jud- 
son  and  the  intensity  of  her  application  to  duty,  a  sen- 
tence from  her  letter  is  here  quoted :  "  Sometimes  for 
a  moment  or  two  my  thoughts  would  glance  toward 
America,  and  my  beloved  friends  there ;  but  for  nearly 
a  year  and  a  half,  so  entirely  engrossed  was  every 
thought  wath  present  scenes  and  sufferings,  that  I  sel- 
dom reflected  on  a  single  occurrence  of  my  former  life, 
or  recollected  that  I  had  a  friend  in  existence  out  of 
Ava." 

This  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  statements  in 
missionary  annals.  Had  the  contrary  been  said,  no 
one  should  have  been  surprised ;  for  it  would  have 
been  in  keeping  with  what  is  known  of  the  human 
heart,  and  the  environments  of  one  who  has  goiie  into 
a  heathen  land,  in  voluntary  exile  from  "  friends,  con- 
nections, happy  country."  The  element  of  her  dispo- 
sition thus  revealed  was  a  saving  provision  in  her 
mental  character,  preventing  it  from  giving  w^ay  at 
critical  junctures.  Ever  before  and  ever  after  the  Ava 
troubles  she  evinced  the  most  tender,  thoughtful  re- 
gard for  friends  in  America,  and  this  temporary  obliv- 
ion into  which  she  plunged  was  to  her  the  means  of 
displaying  a  power  of  devotement  seldom  seen  in  the 
history  of  woman. 

The  destination  of  the  missionaries,  under  the 
terms  of  peace,  was  the  quarters  of  the  English  army. 
They  passed  down  the  Irrawaddy,  attended  by  the  flo- 
tilla of  golden  boats,  dreading  only  a  possible  detention 
in  passing  the  Burmese  camp.  Their  apprehensions 
were  not  without  foundation ;  for  the  woon-gyee  and 
high  ofiicers  there  wanted  to  hold  them  as  hostages, 


A   ME'MORIAI,.  20-^ 

subject  to  an  amicable  consummation  of  the  stipula- 
tions.    But  Mr.  Judson,  conscious  of  the  freedom  of 
which  he  had  been  deprived  so  long,  and  had  but  just 
secured,  rose  in  protest ;  and  after  two  hours  was  per- 
mitted to  pass  on.     Mrs.  Judson,  as  she  says,  now  felt 
free,  and  in  the  morning,  with  sensations  of  supreme 
delight,  "  beheld  the  masts  of  the  steamboat,  the  sure 
presage  of  being  within   the  bounds  of  civilized  life." 
On   reaching  that  vessel  two  of   the  officers  of  the 
Knglish  army  came  and  congratulated  the  missionaries 
on  their   arrival,  and   invited   them   on   board,  where 
Mrs.  Judson  passed  the  remainder  of  the  day.     Mr. 
Judson  went  on  to  army  quarters,  a  few  miles  farther 
down  the  river,  and  in  the  evening  returned  with  an 
invitation  from   Sir  Archibald   Campbell   to  come  di- 
reaiy  to  his  quarters.     The   next   morning   she  was 
introduced  and  received  with  the   greatest  kindness. 
The  general  had  a  large  tent  pitched  near  to  his  own, 
for  the  use  of  the  missionary  family,  and  fed  them  at 
his  own  table.     He  also  recovered  all  their  property 
that  had  been  wrested  from  them  at  Ava,  and  his  hos- 
pitality and  kind  attention  to  the  accommodations  for 
their  passage  when  leaving,  left  an  impression  on  their 
hearts   that   only  subjects  of   sympathy  can    receive. 
Mrs.  Judson's   heart,    in    particular,   overflowed   with 
gratitude  for  the  courtesy  and  kindness  of  diff-erent 
officers,  causing  her  to  feel  that  she  was  still  accounted 
worthy  of  the  respeA  of  mankind;    and  in  the  inno- 
cence  of   her   soul    she   "presumed  to   say   that   no 
persons  on  earth  were  ever  happier  than  they  were 
during    the   fortnight    they   passed    at    the    English 
camp."       That   "twenty-one     months'    qualification" 


204  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

ought  not  to  be  necessary  very  often  in  this  world, 
yet  it  is  evident  that  many  need  the  discipline  more 
than  did  these  missionaries.  The  final  efFecft  was  not 
to  make  Mrs.  Judson  a  complainer,  to  sigh  for  the 
homes  and  hills,  the  society  and  the  churches  of  New 
England,  but,  rather,  to  cause  her  to  lift  up  her.  voice 
in  praise  to  Him  who  had  preserved  and  delivered, 
shouting,  "  What  shall  we  render  unto  the  Lord  for  all 
his  benefits,"  and  then  to  turn  her  face  joyfully  toward 
the  very  work  in  the  prosecution  of  which  all  her 
griefs  had  arisen.  The  work  was  not  to  cease  on 
account  of  temporary  obstructions,  however  obstinate 
and  long  continued,  but  the  uses  of  war  and  the 
lessons  of  its  miseries  and  events  were  to  be  learned, 
and  its  results  to  be  wrought  into  future  missionary 
plans.  As  her  husband,  when  lying  on  the  hard 
boards  of  the  prison-house,  contemplated  the  ultimate 
consequences  of  the  invasion — the  probable  opening 
of  the  Empire  to  the  Gospel,  liberty  of  conscience,  and 
the  taking  up,  by  himself  and  by  others,  of  the  work 
he  had  been  compelled  to  drop,  and  carrying  it  on  to 
a  glorious  success — so  she,  now  that  she  found  time  for 
contemplation,  looked  to  nothing  but  procedure  with 
the  enterprise;  trusting,  as  she  said,  that  "the  pros- 
perity of  the  Burman  mission  (still  the  dearest  object 
of  our  hearts)  will  be  promoted  by  those  events  which 
have  taken  place  the  last  two  years."  She  had  fought 
the  good  fight,  and  now  she  was  to  finish  her  course. 
The  reader  will  be  glad  to  linger  at  Yandabo,  Eng- 
lish headquarters,  and  learn  further  as  to  Mrs.  Judson's 
entertainment  there,  as  revealing  her  character  in 
other  lights; 


A   MKMORIAI,.  205 

General  Campbell  was  to  give  a  dinner  to  the  Burmese 
commissioners,  and  he  chose  to  make  it  an  affair  of  some 
pomp  and  magnificence.  At  a  given  order,  almost  as  by 
magic,  the  camp  v^as  turned  into  a  scene  of  festivity,  with 
such  a  profusion  of  gold  and  crimson,  and  floating  banners, 
as  is  thought  most  pleasing  to  an  Oriental  eye.  When  the 
dinner  hour  arrived  the  company  marched  in  couples,  to  the 
music  of  the  band,  toward  the  table,  led  by  the  general,  who 
walked  alone.  As  they  came  opposite  the  tent  with  the  ve- 
randa before  it  (Mr.  Judson's),  suddenly  the  music  ceased,  the 
whole  procession  stood  still,  and  while  the  wondering  Bur- 
man's  turned  their  eager  eyes  in  every  direction,  doubtful  as 
to  what  would  be  the  next  act  in  the  little  drama,  so  curious  to 
them  as  strangers,  the  general  entered  the  tent.  In  a  moment 
he  reappeared  with  a  lady  on  his  arm — no  stranger  to  the  con- 
scious commissioners — whom  he  led  to  the  table,  and  seated 
at  his  own  right  hand.  The  abashed  commissioners  slid  into 
their  seats  shrinkingly,  where  they  sat  as  though  transfixed 
by  a  mixture  of  astonishment  and  fear.  "  I  fancy  these  gentle- 
men must  be  old  acquaintances  of  yours,  Mrs.  Judson,"  Gen- 
eral Campbell  remarked,  amused  by  what  he  began  to  suspect, 
though  he  did  not  fully  understand  it ;  "  and,  judging  from 
their  appearance,  you  must  have  treated-  them  very  ill."  Mrs. 
Judson  smiled.  The  Burmans  could  not  understand  the  re- 
mark, but  they  evidently  considered  themselves  the  subject  of 
it,  and  their  faces  were  blank  with  consternation. 

"What  is  the  matter  with  yonder  owner  of  the  pointed 
beard  ?  "  pursued  Sir  Archibald ;  "  he  seems  to  be  seized  with 
an  ague  fit." 

"  I  do  not  know,"  answered  Mrs.  Judson,  fixing  her  eyes  on 
the  trembler,  with  perhaps  a  mischievous  enjoyment  of  his 
anxiety,  "  unless  his  memory  may  be  too  busy.  He  is  an  old 
acquaintance  of  mine,  and  may  probably  infer  danger  to  him- 
self from  seeing  me  under  your  protection." 

She  then  proceeded  to  relate  how,  when  her  husband  was 
suffering  from  fever  in  the  stifled  air  of  the  inner  prison,  with 
five  pairs  of  fetters  about  his  ankles,  she  had  walked  several 
miles  to  this  man's  house  to  ask  a  favor.     She  had  left  home 


206  'ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

early  in  the  morning ;  but  was  kept  waiting  so  long  that  it 
was  noonday  before  she  proffered  her  reqiiest,  and  received  a 
rough  refusal.  She  was  turning  sorrowfully  away,  when  his 
attention  was  attracted  by  the  silk  umbrella  she  carried  in  her 
hand,  and  he  instantly  seized  upon  it.  It  was  in  vain  that  she 
represented  the  danger  of  her  walking  home  without  it ;  told 
him  she  had  brought  no  money,  and  could  not  buy  anything 
to  shelter  her  from  the  sun ;  and  begged  that,  if  he  took  that, 
he  would  at  least  furnish  her  with  a  paper  one,  to  protect  her 
from  the  scorching  heat.  He  laughed,  and,  turning  the  very 
suffering  that  had  wasted  her,  into  a  jest,  told  her  it  was  only 
stout  people  who  were  in  danger  of  a  sunstroke — the  sun 
could  not  find  such  as  she ;  and  so  turned  her  from  the  door. 

Expressions  of  indignation  burst  from  the  lips  of  the 
listening  officers;  and  try  to  restrain  them  as  they  would,  in- 
dignant glances  did  somewhat  detract  from  that  high  tone  of 
courtesy  which  it  is  an  Englishman's,  and  especially  an  Eng- 
lish officer's  pride  to  preserve  in  all  matters  of  hospitality. 
The  poor  Burman,  conscience-taught,  seemed  to  understand 
everything  that  was  passing,  and  his  features  were  distorted 
with  fear ;  while  his  face,  from  which  the  perspiration  oozed 
painfully,  appeared,  through  his  tawny  skin,  of  a  deathly 
paleness.  It  was  not  in  a  woman's  heart  to  do  other  than  pity 
him ;  and  Mrs.  Judson  remarked  softly,  in  Burmese,  that  he 
had  nothing  to  fear,  and  then  repeated  the  remark  to  Sir  Arch- 
ibald. The  conversation  immediately  became  general,  and 
every  means  was  taken  to  reassure  the  timorous  guests,  but 
with  little  success.  There  sat  the  lady,  whom  all  but  one  of 
them  had  personally  treated  with  indignity,  at  the  right  hand 
of  power,  and  her  husband,  just  released  from  his  chains,  close 
beyond;  and  they  doubtless  felt  conscious  that  if  they  and 
their  lady  wives  were  in  such  a  position  they  would  ask  the 
heads  of  their  enemies,  and  the  request  would  be  granted. 

"I  never  thought  I  was  over  and  above  vindictive,"  re- 
marked Mr.  Judson,  when  he  told  the  story;  *'  but  really  it  was 
one  of  the  richest  scenes  I  ever  beheld. " 

A  British  officer,  Major  Calder  Campbell,  describing  an 
adventure   in  Ava    in   the   year    1826,  gives   a  beautiful  and 


A    MEMORIAI,.  207 

affecting  description  of  Mrs.  Judson.     Major  Campbell,  then  a 
lieutenant,  when  descending  the  Irrawaddy  river  in  a  canoe 
manned  by  Burmans,  was  attacked  in  the  night,  while  asleep, 
by  his  faithless  boatmen,  and  severely  wounded  and  robbed! 
When  waiting  on  the  beach  with  much  anxiety  and  distress 
for  the  passage  of  some  friendly  bark,  a  row-boat  was  seen  ap- 
proaching.    Signals  of  distress  were  made,  and  a  skiff  sent  to 
his  assistance.     The  following  is  the  language  of  the  writer: 
'•We  were    taken  on  board.      My  eyes  first  rested  on  the 
thin,  attenuated  form  of  a  lady— a  white  lady !    the  first  white 
lady  I  had  seen  for  more  than  a  year !     She  was  standing  on  the 
little  deck  of  the  row-boat,  leaning   on  the  arm  of  a  sickly- 
looking  gentleman  with  an  intellectual  cast  of  countenance,  in 
whom  I  at  once  recognized  the  husband  or  the  brother. 

"  His  dress  and  bearing  pointed  him  out  as  a  missionary. 
I  have  said  that  I  had  not  beheld  a  white  female  for  many 
months;  and  now  the  soothing  accents  of  female  words  fell 
upon  my  ears  like  a  household  hymn  of  my  youth. 

"  My  wound  was  tenderly  dressed,  my  head  bound  up,  and 
I  was  laid  on  a  sofa-bed.     W^ith  what  a  thankful  heart  did  I 
breathe   forth  a  blessing  on  these   kind    Samaritans!     With 
what  a  delight  did  I  drink  in  the  mild,  gentle  sounds  of  that 
eweet  woman's  voice,  as  she  pressed  me  to  recruit  my  strength 
with  some  of  that  beverage  'which    cheers  but  not  inebri- 
ates!'    She  was  seated  in  a  large  sort  of  swinging  chair,  of 
American  construction,  in  which  her  slight,  emaciated,  but 
graceful  form  appeared  almost  ethereal.     Yet,  with  much  of 
heaven,  there  were  still  the  breathings  of  earthly  feeling  about 
her,  for  at  her  feet  rested  a  babe,  a  little,  wan  baby,  on  which 
her  eyes  often  turned  with  all  a  mother's  love;   and  gazing 
frequently  upon  her.  delicate  features,  with  a  fond  yet  fearful 
glance,  was  that  meek  missionary,  her  husband.     Her  face  was 
pale,  very  pale,  with    that    expression    of  deep  and  serious 
thought  which  speaks  of  the  strong  and  vigorous  mind  within 
the  frail  and  perishing  body;    her  brown  hair  was  braided 
over  a  placid  and  holy  brow;  but  her  hands— those  small,  lily 
hands— were  quite  beautiful;    beautiful  they  were,  and  very 
wan;   for,  ah!  they  told  of  disease— of  death— death  in  all  its 


208  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

transparent  grace — when  the  sickly  blood  shines  through  the 
clear  skin,  even  as  the  bright  poison  lights  up  the  Venetian 
glass  which  it  is  about  to  shatter.  That  lady  was  Mrs.  Judson, 
whose  long  captivity  and  severe  hardships  amongst  the  Bur- 
mese have  since  been  detailed  in  her  published  journals. 

"  I  remained  two  days  with  them ;  two  delightful  days  they 
were  to  me.  Mrs.  Judson's  powers  of  conversation  were  of 
the  first  order,  and  the  many  affecting  anecdotes  that  she 
gave  us  of  their  long  and  cruel  bondage,  their  struggles  in  the 
cause  of  religion,  and  their  advantages  during  a  long  resi- 
dence at  the  court  of  Ava,  gained  a  heightened  interest  from 
the  beautiful,  energetic  simplicity  of  her  language,  as  well  as 
from  the  certainty  I  felt  that  so  fragile  a  flower,  as  she  in  very 
truth  was,  had  but  a  brief  season  to  linger  on  earth. 

"Why  is  it  that  we  grieve  to  think  of  the  approaching 
death  of  the  young,  the  virtuous,  the  ready?  Alas!  it  is  the 
selfishness  of  human  nature  that  would  keep  to  itself  the 
purest  and  sweetest  gifts  of  Heaven,  to  encounter  the  blasts 
and  the  blights  of  a  world  where  we  see  them,  rather  than 
that  they  should  be  transplanted  to  a  happier  region,  where  we 
see  them  not. 

"  When  I  left  the  kind  Judsons,  I  did  so  with  regret.  When 
I  looked  my  last  on  her  mild,  worn  countenance,  as  she  issued 
some  instructions  to  my  new  set  of  boatmen,  I  felt  my  eyes 
fill  with  prophetic  tears.  They  were  not  perceived.  We 
parted,  and  we  never  met  again;  nor  is  it  likely  that  the 
wounded  subaltern  was  ever  again  thought  of  by  those  who 
had  succored  him.  Mrs.  Judson  and  her  child  died  soon  after 
the  cessation  of  hostilities." — Reminiscences  of  Conversa- 
tions, by  Mrs.  Emily  C.  Judson. 


A    MEMORIAL.  209 

XVI. 

^Va\Xi^X&i— DEATH. 

Through  suffering  and  sorrow  thou  hast  pass'd, 
To  show  us  what  a  woman  true  may  be. 

J.  R.  IvOWEl,!,. 

"  How  vain  are  all  the  trials  we  meet  with  here, 

If  we  but  feel  that  a  better  world  is  near, 

And  voices  from  the  lov'd  and  lost  our  wear}'  spirits  cheer." 

ti/^N  the  jo3^ful  2ist  of  Februarj^  1826,"  Mr.  Judson 
^^  and  family  took  leave  of  Ava.  On  the  6th  of 
March  following,  after  the  treaty  of  peace  and  sojourn 
at  Yandabo,  they  sailed  down  the  Irrawaddy  in  a  British 
gun-boat.  While  on  the  way,  they  met  converts  of 
their  former  labors,  who  had  been  scattered  and  peeled  ; 
stragglers  were  they,  but  not  deserters  of  the  Cross. 
The  mutual  recognition,  after  the  long  separation,  was 
clear  and  joyous.  Some  had  died,  some  gone  into  the 
interior  of  the  country,  some  were  living  in  boats  at 
Prome.  When  the  new  plans  for  missionary  work 
were  told  to  them,  they  were  ready  to  rejoin  their 
leaders  and  go  with  them  to  the  service. 

On  March  21st  the  missionaries  arrived  at  Ran- 
goon, the  seat  of  their  first  mission,  and  the  scene  of 
early  trials  and  triumphs.  They  were  not  surprised, 
perhaps,  to  find  the  little  church,  the  nucleus  of  the 
denomination  in    Burmah,  completely  wrecked.     The 


2IO  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

Wades  and  Houghs,  left  in  charge,  had  been  driven  by 
the  war  to  Calcutta,  narrowly  escaping  with  their  lives. 
But  though  the  candlestick  had  been  ruthlessly  torn 
away,  the  lights  it  contained  were  here  and  there  shin- 
ing in  a  darkness  that  comprehended  them  not.  "  With 
the  exception  of  two,  none  had  disgraced  their  holy 
profession."  One  had  continued  at  the  mission-house 
through  the  whole  time. 

In  forming  their  plans  for  the  future,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Judson,  again  the  only  standard-bearers  at  Rangoon, 
found  that  the  circumstances  indicated  the  practica- 
bility of  a  new  mission  elsewhere.  But  four  of  the 
native  Christians  could  be  found,  and  two  of  these 
were  the  women  who  had  come  down  with  them  from 
Prome,  and  a  third  the  faithful  Moung  Ing,  who  had 
been  with  them  from  the  time  they  left  for  Ava,  leav- 
ing Moung  Shwa-ba,  who,  "  faithful  through  every  ad- 
versity, alone  dwelt  at  the  mission-house,  awaiting  the 
return  of  the  teachers."  Besides,  the  English  were 
certain  to  vacate  Rangoon,  and  their  departure  would 
leave  the  missionaries  again  subject  to  the  intolerance 
of  the  Burman  Power,  as  they  now  were  to  the  ravages 
of  famine  and  beasts  of  prey. 

Mr.  Judson  was  invited  by  the  Civil  Commissioner, 
Mr.  Crawfurd,  to  aid  in  selecting  the  site  of  a  new 
capital  for  the  ceded  provinces ;  and  in  accepting  he 
sailed  with  that  officer  southward  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Sal  wen,  and  chose  the  promontory  where  its  waters 
empty  into  the  sea.  "  The  climate  was  salubrious,  the 
land  high  and  bold  to  the  seaward,  and  the  view  of  the 
distant  hills  of  Ballon  Island  very  captivating."  The 
place  was  named  Amh-erst,  in  honor  of  the  Governor- 


A   MEMORIAI,.  '  211 

General  of  India.  At  once  Mr.  Judson  determined  on 
this  as  the  location  of  his  mission,  and  on  July  2,  1826, 
he  and  Mrs.  Judson,  with  their  family  and  the  four 
native  converts  above  mentioned,  gathered  at  Amherst 
to  begin  missionary  life  anew. 

Meanwhile  Mr.  Judson  had  been  solicited  by  the 
English  Commissioner,  Mr.  Crawfurd,  to  accompany 
him  on  an  embassy  to  the  Court  at  Ava,  to  aid  in  nego- 
tiating a  secondary  treaty,  relating  to  commerce.  He 
had  complied,  though  reluctantly,  and  only  after  re- 
ceiving assurance  that  the  Commissioner  would  use 
his  utmost  endeavors  to  have  a  clause  inserted  securing 
religious  toleration,  an  object  to  which  Mr.  Judson 
still  clung,  with  the  utmost  solicitude  for  its  accom- 
plishment, but  with  defeat  in  this  as  in  former  in- 
stances. He  first  accompanied  his  family  to  Amherst, 
since  the  native  converts  had  already  gone  there,  and 
it  was  desirable  that  Mrs.  Judson  should  be  with  them, 
and  the  new  work  begin  as  early  as  practicable.  The 
family  were  soon  temporarily  settled  in  a  house  belong- 
ing to  Captain  Fenwick,  Civil  Superintendent  of  the 
place,  which  was  kindly  vacated  for  their  accommo- 
dation. And  within  a  week  from  the  time  of  arrival, 
Mr.  Judson  was  off  again  for  Ava. 

With  what  emotions  of  horror  must  Mrs.  Judson 
have  contemplated  his  return  to  Ava !  The  war  was 
over,  but  heathenism  remained,  and  that  city  was  still 
a  habitation  of  cruelty.  And  Oung-pen-la  was  near  by, 
"  that  never-to-be-forgotten  place  !  "  She  must  have 
suspected  some  danger  nigh.  The  British  were  hated 
the  more  for  being  the  conquerors,  and  it  was,  doubt- 
less, still  a  conceit   of  the   Burmans  that   their  own 


212  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

power  was  superior  to  theirs.  Why  should  they  not; 
at  any  moment  of  supposed  advantage  prove  treacher- 
ous to  treaties,  and  strike  down  any  one  within  their 
reach  who  should  not  contribute  to  their  personal 
emolument  or  superstitions  ?  Two  years  of  almost 
insupportable  strain,  with  frequent  and  terrible  shocks, 
left  her  with  a  mind  not  pleased  by  a  mention  of  the 
Golden  City.  The  joy  of  a  release  could  not  heal  a 
broken,  nervous  system.  She  was  not  to  go  back  to 
the  arena  of  her  sad  exploits,  but  the  prisoner  for 
whom  she  so  nearly  gave  her  life  was  to  do  so ;  he 
never  wearied  of  testing  expedients  for  the  readier 
introduction  of  the  Gospel  to  the  Burman  Empire,  and 
was  not  to  be  deterred  by  lions  in  the  way.  She 
acquiesced  in  his  going. 

Once  more  the  hero  and  the  heroine  of  the  Bur- 
man  mission  bade  each  other  adieu.  A  temporary 
separation  was  an  experience  to  which  they  had  be- 
come accustomed;  and  they  had  learned  to  expect  a 
re-union,  even  w^hen  the  absence  was  greatly  pro- 
tracfted.  In  this  instance  Mr.  Judson  was  confident 
that  he  would  be  detained  only  a  few  months  at  most, 
after  w^hich  he  would  prosecute  the  w^ork  in  his  new 
field  with  renewed  zeal,  and  perhaps  with  the  joyous 
consciousness  that  religious  toleration  had  become  a 
law  of  the  Empire.  But  the  day  of  parting,,  the  5th 
of  July,  1826,  was  the  last  of  their  conjugal  life  to- 
gether. He  proceeded  to  Rangoon,  thence  to  go  on  to 
Ava ;  she,  amid  strangers,  still  in  a  heathen  land  and 
essentially  homeless,  turned  her  attention  again  to  the 
fitting  up  of  a  place  in  which  to  live  and  where  she 
might  labor  for  perishing  souls.     In  taking  a  retro- 


A   MEMORIAL.  213 

spe(?t  of  her  missionary  career,  she  might  have  ex- 
claimed, as  on  the  Isle  of  France,  thirteen  years  be- 
fore, "  When  shall  I  find  some  little  spot  that  I  can 
call  my  home,  while  in  this  world?"  Ah,  how  near 
was  she  to  the  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in 
the  heavens ! 

For  more  than  two  months  Mrs  Judson  apphed 
herself,  as  other  duties  would  admit,  to  the  building  of 
a  bamboo  house  for  her  family,  and  also  two  school- 
houses.  Her  little  daughter  was  in  declining  health, 
but  her  own  health  was  declared  by  her  husband  to  be 
good,  and  she  was  "comfortably  situated,  happy  in 
being  out  of  the  reach  of  savage  oppressors,  and  ani- 
mated in  prospedl  of  a  field  of  missionary  labor  open- 
ing under  the  auspices  of  British  protection."  The 
completion  of  her  house  was  singularly  coincident 
with  the  writing  of  her  last  letter  to  Mr.  Judson.  The 
message,  dated  September  14,  1826,  contains  the  fol- 
lowing cheering,  prophetic,  affectionate  words : 

I  have  this  day  moved  into  the  new  house,  and,  for  the  first 
time  since  we  were  broken  up  at  Ava,  feel  myself  at  home. 
The  house  is  large  and  convenient,  and  if  you  were  here  I 
should  feel  quite  happy.  The  native  population  is  increasing 
very  fast,  and  things  wear  rather  a  favorable  aspect.  Moung 
Ing's  school  has  commenced  with  ten  scholars,  and  more  are 
expected.  Poor  little  Maria  is  still  feeble.  I  sometimes  hope 
she  is  getting  better ;  then  again  she  declines  to  her  former 
weakness.  When  I  ask  her  where  papa  is,  she  always  starts 
up  and  points  towards  the  sea.  The  servants  behave  very  well, 
and  I  have  no  trouble  about  anything  but  you  and  Maria. 
Pray  take  care  of  yourself,  particularly  as  it  regards  the  inter- 
"snittent  fever  at  Ava.  May  God  preserve  and  bless  you,  and 
restore  you  in  safety  to  your  new  and  old  home,  is  the  praj^er 
of  your  affectionate  Ann. 


214  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

The  last  half  of  the  month  (September)  wore 
away  in  watchings  over  her  little  daughter,  whose  life 
hung  in  the  balance,  but  was  for  much  of  the  time  de- 
spaired of.  To  part  with  another  child,  the.  only  one 
left,  and  the  only  ray  in  the  memory  of  protracted  per- 
secution and  prison  life,  would  have  been  to  add  a 
poignant  pang  to  previous  bereavements.  But  she 
was  to  be  spared  this  sorrow — spared  by  herself  enter- 
ing upon  a  life  not  subjedl  to  sorrow  nor  sighing,  nor 
any  pain,  the  former  things  having  passed  away.  She 
was  to  be  taken,  Maria  to  be  left.  The  one  of  whom 
Captain  Fenwick  wrote,  October  3d,  saying  that  she 
was  "  extremely  well,"  hastened  her  departure  to  the 
future  world ;  while  the  one  who  hovered,  as  a  bird- 
ling,  about  the  maternal  nest,  with  scarcely  enough 
vitality  to  poise  herself  or  to  maintain  her  hold  for  an 
instant,  remained  for  a  time  in  the  vacant  home.  The 
nurse,  by  too  close  attendance  on  the  patient,  became 
the  greater  patient,  and  drew  to  herself  the  deepest 
solicitude  of  the  household  and  friends.  Soon  after 
the  above  flattering  report  was  rendered,  Mrs.  Judson 
was  taken  with  fever.  "  The  shocks  which  her  consti- 
tution had  received  from  previous  attacks  of  disease, 
and  during  the  scenes  at  Ava,  rendered  her  incapable 
of  withstanding  the  violence  of  this  last  attack."  On 
the  1 8th  of  October  the  hope  was  expressed  that  she 
would  again  and  soon  be  quite  well,  as  the  fever  had 
not  yet  been  so  severe  as  to  reduce  her.  Her  care  of 
her  child  had  been  rewarded  by  a  most  favorable 
change  of  its  condition,  after  which  it  "  improved  won- 
derfully;  "  and  thus  for  the  moment  the  cloud  on  her 
home  began  to  part  asunder. 


A   MKMORIAI,.  2115 

But  the  time  of  trial  appointed  to  Mrs.  Judson  had 
nearly  reached  its  limit,  and  it  was  not  to  be  extended 
by 'human  love  and  sympathy.     Mother  and  child  re- 
vived and  awakened  to  mutual  recognition  and  em- 
brace, before  the  parting  came.     From  the  first  of  this 
sickness  Mrs.  Judson  felt  a  strong  presentiment  that 
she  should  not  recover,  yet  nothing  was  spared  that 
could  be  provided  by  physician  and  friends  to  avert  the 
sad  result.     Captain  Fenwick  procured  her  the  serv- 
ices of  a  European  woman,  of  the  English  army,  who, 
with  others,  gave  her  the  most  assiduous  attention,  be^ 
cause,  added  to  the  humaneness  required,  none  felt  that 
one  so  important  to  society,  as  well  as  indispensable  to 
the  mission,  and  emphatically  a  helpmeet  to  her  hus- 
band, could  possibly  be  spared.     Still  no  one  could  do 
more  than  to  comfort  her  in  her  sufferings  and  smooth 
the  passage  to  the  grave.     On  the  20th  the  physician 
began  seriously  to  suspect  danger.     Before  that  period 
the  fever  had  abated  at  intervals,  but  now  it  baffled  all 
medical  skill.     "  On  the  morning  of  the  23d  she  spoke 
for  the  last  time.     The  disease  had  then  completed  its 
conquest,  and  from  that  time  up  to  the  moment  of  dis- 
solution, she   lay   nearly  motionless    and   apparently 
quite  insensible."     For  some  days  her  head  had  been 
much  affected,  and  she  said  but  little.     Sometimes  she 
moaned  thus :     "  The  teacher  is  long  in  coming,  and 
the  new  missionaries  are  long  in  coming.     I  must  die 
alone,  and  leave  my  little  one.     But  as  it  is  the  will  of 
God,  I  acquiesce   in    His   will.     I   am    not   afraid   of 
death,  but  I  am  afraid  I  shall  not  be  able  to  bear  these 
pains.     Tell  the  teacher  that  the  disease  was  most  vio- 
lent, and  I  could  not  write ;  tell  him  how  I  suffered 


2l6  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

and  died ;  tell  him  all  that  you  see ;  and  take  care  of 
the  house  and  things  until  he  returns."  Mr.  Judson, 
on  his  return,  gathered  the  following,  also :  "  When 
she  was  unable  to  notice  anything  else,  she  w^ould  still 
call  the  child  to  her,  and  charge  the  nurse  to  be  kind 
to  it,  and  indulge  it  in  everything,  until  its  father 
should  return.  The  last  day  or  two  she  lay  almost 
senseless  and  motionless,  on  one  side — her  head  re- 
clining on  her  arm,  her  ej^es  closed — and  at  eight  in 
the  evening,  with  one  exclamation  of  distress,  in  the 
Burman  language,  she  ceased  to  breathe." 

This  sorrowful  event  occurred  October  24,  1826;  a 
day  that  soon  would  have  been  entered  in  the  Baptist 
Calendar  as  a  Saint's  Day,  had  a  list  been  compatible 
with  the  Christian  faith.  It  stands  first  in  the  mor- 
tuary register  of  distinguished  Baptist  servants  on  the 
foreign  field,  who  went  from  American  shores,  and  no 
similar  death  has  yet  occurred  to  detract  from  the  illus- 
trious precedence  of  her  who  was  the  subject  of  it,  and 
who  triumphed  over  it.  Her  career  marked  the  be- 
ginning of  a  new  era  of  usefulness  to  American  Bap- 
tist women.  The  date  and  place  of  her  birth,  as  also 
the  time  and  place  of  her  death  and  burial,  are  memo- 
rialized in  an  ever-increasing  number  of  Christian 
hearts  the  world  over.  No  writer  on  the  history  of 
missions,  and  scarcely  a  biographer  of  eminent  char- 
acters, would  leave  out  her  name  and  hope  to  obtain  a 
verdict  for  competency. 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that  one  cause  of  Mrs.  Jud- 
son's  death  was  overdoing,  made  necessary  by  the 
dreadful  circumstances  attending  her  husband's  im- 
prisonment, together  with  the  supervening  effect  of 


A    MKMORIAI,.  217 

the  climate  on  her  debilitated  constitution.  Mr.  Jud- 
son  wrote  to  friends,  concerning  that  part  of  her 
experience : 

You  ask  many  questions  in  A.'s  letter  about  our  sufferings 
at  Ava;  but  how  can  I  answer  them  now?  There  would  be 
some  pleasure  in  reviewing  those  scenes  if  she  were  alive; 
but  now  I  cannot.  The  only  pleasant  reflection — the  only  one 
that  assuages  the  anguish  of  retrospection — is,  that  she  now 
rests  far  away,  where  no  spotted-faced  executioner  can  fill  her 
heart  with  terror ;  where  no  unfeeling  magistrate  can  extort 
the  scanty  pittance  which  she  had  preserved  through  every 
risk  to  sustain  her  fettered  husband  and  famishing  babe ;  no 
more  exposed  to  lie  on  a  bed  of  languishment,  and  stung  with 
the  uncertainty,  what  would  become  of  her  poor  husband  and 
child  when  she  was  gone. 

Again : 

Oh,  with  what  meekness,  patience,  magnanimity  and  Chris- 
tian fortitude  she  bore  those  sufferings !  And  can  I  wish  they 
had  been  less?  Can  I  sacrilegiously  wish  to  rob  her  crown  of 
a  single  gem  ?  Much  she  saw  and  suffered  of  the  evil  of  this 
evil  world ;  and  eminently  was  she  qualified  to  relish  and 
enjoy  the  pure  and  holy  rest  into  which  she  has  entered. 

As  it  has  been  intimated,  Mrs.  Jiidson,  on  first 
being  attacked  with  fever,  was  persuaded  that  she 
should  not  recover.  However,  her  mind  was  uni- 
formly tranquil  and  happy  in  the  prospect  of  death. 
"  She  only  expressed  occasional  regret  at  leaving  her 
child,  the  native  Christians,  and  the  schools,  before  her 
husband  or  another  missionary  family  could  arrive." 
Her  "ruling  passion,"  the  salvation  of  Burmah,  was 
strong  in  death.  How  touching  the  circumstance  that 
her  final  utterance  on  earth  was  made  in  the  tongue  of 
the  poor  benighted  Burman,  whose  cause  she  had  es- 


2l8  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 

poused,  and  at  whose  hands  she  may  be  said  to  have 
suffered  and  died  !  Ungrateful,  wicked  hands  virtually 
had  crucified  and  slain  her.  And  though  through  ig- 
norance they  may  have  done  this,  yet  it  is  evident  that 
there  was  a  consciousness  of  sin  in  the  doing,  and  that 
conscience  was  not  utterly  dethroned  in  their  natures. 
The  case  of  the  Belshazzar  at  Sir  Archibald's  feast,  at 
Yandabo,  who  trembled  at  his  interpretation  of  the 
handwriting  in  her  meek,  forgiving,  and  triumphant 
countenance,  shows  how  conscience  still  had  the  power 
to  make  cowards  of  them  all.  Those  who  had  been 
converted  were  susceptible  to  the  appeal  of  so  gentle 
and  beneficent  a  ministry  as  hers,  and  they  could  re- 
spond, in  their  rude  way,  by  a  grateful  and  loving  ser- 
vice ;  and  there  have  not  appeared  in  any  land  truer 
disciples  and  friends  than  those  she  gathered  about  her. 
To  illustrate  the  last  statement,  let  the  reader  recall 
the  case  of  Moung  Ing,  who  went  with  her  from  Ran- 
goon to  Ava,  and  abode  with  her  through  all  those 
fiery  trials,  aiding  her  in  every  way,  and  with  hazard  to 
himself,  and  who  came  back  with  the  family,  and  at  her 
death  was  still  with  them,  as  a  teacher;  the  instance  of 
devotion  on  the  part  of  Mah-men-la  and  her  sister, 
Mah  Doke,  who  came  with  them  from  Prome;  of 
Moung  Shwa-ba,  who  staid  at  the  mission-house  at 
Rangoon  while  the  tragedy  of  Ava  and  Oung-pen-la 
was  being  enacted,  and  until  the  missionaries  returned  ; 
even  of  Moung  Shwa-gnong,  naturally  weak  at  heart 
but  made  strong  by  divine  grace,  honoring  his  profes- 
sion to  the  last ;  and  those  native  Christians  at  Am- 
herst who  came  out  to  meet  Mr.  Judson  on  his  return 
to  his  desolated  home,  and  when  they  saw  him,  began 


A   MKMORIAI,.  219 

to  weep.  The  instances  of  gratitude  and  love  ma}^  be 
thought  to  have  been  few,  but  those  of  the  opposite 
character  were  much  fewer.  And  thus  it  has  been  to 
the  present  day. 

The  Httle  society  of  EngHsh  residents  at  Amherst 
partook  of  the  sorrow  pervading  the  community  of 
natives,  and  in  a  degree  by  so  much  greater  as  they 
were  better  quaUfied  to  appreciate  Mrs.  Judson's 
worth.  And  their  expressions  were  not  made  as  a 
diplomatic  or  martial  formality,  but  as  sincere  personal 
testimony,  given,  to  some  extent,  among  themselves. 
Thus,  one  writes  to  a  friend  in  Rangoon,  with  a  view 
to  reaching  Mr.  Judson  with  the  news  of  her  death, 
indirectly : 

I  trust  that  you  will  be  able  to  find  means  to  inform  our 
friend  of  the  dreadful  loss  he  has  suffered.  Mrs.  Judson  had 
slight  attacks  of  fever  from  the  8th  to  the  9th  inst.,  but  we  had 
no  reason  to  apprehend  the  fatal  result.  I  saw  her  on  the 
i8th,  and  at  that  time  she  was  free  from  fever,  scarcely,  if  at 
all,  reduced.  I  was  obliged  to  go  up  the  country  on  a  sudden 
business,  and  did  not  hear  of  her  danger  until  my  return  on 
the  24th ;  on  which  day  she  breathed  her  last,  at  8  p.  m.  I 
shall  not  attempt  to  give  you  an  account  of  the  gloom  which 
the  death  of  this  most  amiable  woman  has  thrown  over  our 
small  society.  You,  who  were  so  well  acquainted  with  her, 
must  feel  her  loss  more  deeply;  but  we  had  just  known  her 
long  enough  to  value  her  acquaintance  as  a  blessing  in  this 
remote  corner.  I  dread  the  effect  it  will  have  on  poor  Judson. 
I  am  sure  you  will  take  every  care  that  this  mournful  intelli- 
gence may  be  opened  to  him   as    carefully  as  possible. 

Sir  Archibald  Campbell  writes  to  the  envoy :  "Poor 
Judson  will  be  dreadfully  distressed  at  the  loss  of  his 
good  and  amiable  wife.  She  died  the  other  day  at 
Amherst,  of  remittent  fever,  eighteen  days  ill." 


220  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 

The  Assistant  Superintendent  of  Amherst  writes 
Mr.  Judson  direct,  detaiHng  the  circumstances  of  her 
illness,  adding : 

On  the  morning  of  the  23d  Mrs.  Judson  spoke  for  the 
last  time.  The  disease  had  then  completed  its  conquest,  and 
from  that  time,  up  to  the  moment  of  dissolution,  she  lay 
nearly  motionless,  and  apparently  quite  insensible.  Yester- 
day morning  I  assisted  in  the  last  melancholy  office  of  put- 
ting her  mortal  remains  in  the  coffin  ;  and  in  the  evening  her 
funeral  was  attended  by  all  the  European  officers  now  resident 
here.  We  have  buried  her  near  the  spot  where  she  first 
landed ;  and  I  have  put  up  a  small,  rude  fence  around  the 
grave  to  protect  it  from  incautious  intrusion. 

The  honors  bestowed  at  her  funeral,  and  the  tender- 
ness with  which  her  remains  were  interred,  and  her 
grave  protected,  show  that  those  English  officers  enter- 
tained toward  her  some  higher  sentiment  than  that  of 
personal  or  ethnic  courtesy.  And  turning  to  the  in- 
ner circle  of  all,  the  public  are  permitted  to  know  how 
the  bereavement  affedled  the  heart  of  him  who  uni- 
formly made  but  a  modest  and  partial  expression  of 
the  trials  he  endured,  and  who  ever  felt  that  no  disci- 
pline was  too  severe  for  him ;  such  revealment  coming 
from  the  heart  that  had  most  experience  of  good 
through  her  life  and  of  grief  in  her  death.  Mr.  Judson 
writes,  while  yet  at  Ava : 

The  news  of  the  death  of  my  beloved  wife  has  not  only 
thrown  a  gloom  over  all  my  future  prospects,  but  has  forever 
embittered  my  recollections  of  the  present  journey,  in  conse- 
quence of  which  I  have  been  absent  from  her  dying  bed,  and 
prevented  from  affording  the  spiritual  comfort  which  her 
lonely  circumstances  peculiarly  required,  and  of  contributing 
to  avert  the  fatal  catastrophe  which  has  deprived  me  of  one  of 
the  first  of  women,  the  best  of  v.ives. 


A    MEMORIAI..  221 

And  Rev.  Dr.  Edward  Judson,  from  the  view-point 
of  one  having  entered  into  the  inheritance  of  her  price- 
less memory,  says : 

The  hands  so  full  of  holy  endeavors  were  destined  to  be 
suddenly  folded  for  rest.  She  died  apart  from  him  to  whom 
she  had  given  her  heart  in  her  girlhood,  whose  footsteps  she 
had  faithfully  followed  for  fourteen  years,  over  land  and  sea, 
through  trackless  jungles  and  strange,  crowded  cities,  sharing 
his  studies  and  privations,  illumining  his  hours  of  gloom  with 
her  beaming  presence,  and  with  a  heroism  and  fidelity  unpar- 
alleled in  the  annals  of  missions,  soothing  the  sufferings  of 
his  imprisonment.  He  whom  she  had  thus  loved,  and  who, 
from  his  experience  of  Indian  fever,  might  have  been  able  to 
avert  the  fatal  stroke,  was  far  away  in  Ava.  No  missionary 
was  with  her  when  she  died,  to  speak  words  of  Christian  con- 
solation. The  Burman  converts,  like  children,  gathered  help- 
lessly and  broken-heartedly  about  their  white  mamma.  The 
hands  of  strangers  smoothed  her  dying  pillow,  and  their  ears 
received  her  last  faint,  wandering  utterances.  Under  such 
auspices  as  these  her  white-winged  spirit  took  its  flight  to 
the  brighter  scenes  of  the  New  Jerusalem. 

The  Calcutta  Review,  of  1848,  more  than  twenty 
years  after  her  career  was  ended,  gave  a  tribute  to  her 
character  which  shows  the  verdict  of  a  later  time,  as 
rendered  by  a  leading  periodical  of  a  neighboring 
kingdom,  viz. : 

Of  Mrs.  Judson  little  is  known  in  the  noisy  world.  Few, 
comparatively,  are  acquainted  with  her  name,  few  with  her 
actions,  but  if  any  woman,  since  the  first  arrival  of  the  white 
strangers  on  the  shores  of  India,  has,  on  that  great  theatre 
of  war,  stretching  between  the  mouth  of  the  Irrawaddy  and 
the  borders  of  the  Hindoo  Kush,  rightly  earned  for  herself 
the  title  of  a  heroine,  Mrs.  Judson  has,  by  her  doings  and 
sufferings,  fairly  earned  the  distinction — a  distinction,  be  it 
said,  which  her  true  woman's  nature  would   have  very  little 


222  ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

appreciated.  Still  it  is  right  that  she  should  be  honored  by 
the  world.  Her  sufferings  were  far  more  unendurable,  her 
heroism  far  more  noble  than  any  which  in  more  recent  times 
have  been  so  much  pitied  and  so  much  applauded;  but  she 
was  a  simple  missionary's  wife,  an  American  by  birth,  and  she 
told  her  tale  with  an  artless  modesty — writing  only  what  it 
became  her  to  write,  treating  only  of  matters  that  became 
a  woman.  Her  captivity,  if  so  it  can  be  called,  was  voluntarily 
endured.  She  of  her  own  free  will  shared  the  sufferings  of 
her  husband,  taking  to  herself  no  credit  for  anything  she  did ; 
putting  her  trust  in  God,  and  praying  to  Him  to  strengthen 
her  human  weakness.  She  was  spared  to  breathe  once  again 
the  free  air  of  liberty,  but  her  troubles  had  done  the  work 
of  death  on  her  delicate  frame,  and  she  was  soon  translated 
to  heaven.  She  was  the  real  heroine.  The  annals  in  the  East 
present  us  with  no  parallel. 

The  cloud  still  hung  heavy  over  the  humble  home 
at  Amherst.  "  Poor  little  Maria  is  still  feeble,"  wrote 
Mrs.  Judson,  in  her  last  letter  to  her  husband.  Mr. 
Judson  was  still  at  Ava,  and  dependent  now  for  infor- 
mation on  such  friends  in  the  British  army  as  might 
feel  compassionate  and  s^^mpathetic  toward  him ;  and 
they,  with  a  tenderness  that  tempered  their  judgment, 
sought  to  modify  their  tidings  with  favorable  state- 
ments. Mrs.  Judson 's  condition  was  represented  in 
the  best  possible  light,  until  the  end  came ;  and  then 
one  said  to  another,  "  I  trust  that  you  will  be  able  to 
find  means  to  inform  our  friend  of  the  dreadful  loss 
he  has  suffered."  A  similar  course  was  pursued  re- 
specting the  daughter.  And  presently,  when  the 
letter  bearing  the  black  seal  had  been  forwarded,  it  was 
handed  to  him  with  the  misleading  but  perhaps  well- 
intended  remark  of  the  bearer  that  he  was  sorry 
to  inform  him  of  the  death  of  his  child.     He  went  to 


A   MEMORIAL.  223 

his  room  to  read  the  message,  grateful  that  the  worst 
possible  had  not  come,  but  only  to  be  painfully  aston- 
ished by  the  intelligence  that  it  was  the  mother  and 
not  the  child,  of  which  he  had  been  bereaved. 

Little  Maria  lingered  on.  In  about  one  month 
after  her  mother's  death,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wade  arrived 
from  America — they  being  the  recruits  to  the  mission 
that  the  dying  saint  thought  were  "  long  in  coming  "— 
'and  they  occupied  the  home  of  the  deceased  and  took 
full  charge  of  her  child.  After  an  absence  of  nearly 
eight  months  Mr.  Judson  returned  to  Amherst  and 
went  to  the  house  built  and  then  left  desolate  by  his 
beloved  Ann.  Mr.  Wade  met  him  at  the  landing 
place,  and  as  they  proceeded  toward  the  house  "  one 
and  another  of  the  native  Christians  came  out,  and 
when  they  saw  him  they  began  to  weep";  weep  for 
him  and  for  themselves,  as  a  sense  of  the  desolation 
settled  down  upon  them.  As  he  entered  the  home — 
"old  and  new,"  with  the  most  that  made  it  "  old"  for- 
ever gone,  and  with  little  there  to  make  it  seem  a 
home  at  all — he  saw  in  the  arms  of  Mrs.  Wade  "a 
puny  child,  who  could  not  recognize  her  weeping 
father,  and  from  whose  infant  mind  had  long  been 
erased  all  recollections  of  the  mother  who  loved  her  so 
much."  She  turned  from  him  in  alarm,  and  he, 
obliged  to  seek  comfort  elsewhere,  went  away  to  the 
grave  where  "the  hopes  of  earth  were  laid,"  and 
thence  to  the  house  in  which  her  father  and  mother 
had  exchanged  the  parting  kiss,  and  looked  at  the 
spot  where  they  last  knelt  in  prayer.  An  only  child 
remained  to  him  now,  and  she  a  fast  fading  flower. 


224  ^^^^'    ^-    JUDSON. 

Time  sped  along,  and  avS  it  flew  it  "  winged  away" 
the  spirit  of  poor,  suffering  Maria.  The  complaint,  to 
which  she  was  subject  for  several  months,  proved 
incurable;  and  on  April  24,  1827,  just  six  months  after 
her  mother  departed,  she  followed  her  in  death,  aged 
two  years  and  three  months.  The  event  is  made  the 
subject  of  a  letter  by  Mr.  Judson  to  her  grandmother 
Hasseltine,  in  which  appear  these  pathetic  words : 

We  then  closed  her  faded  eyes,  and  bound  up  her  discol- 
ored lips,  where  the  dark  touch  of  death  first  appeared,  and 
folded  her  little  hands— the  exact  pattern  of  her  mother's— on 
her  cold  breast.  The  next  morning  we  made  her  last  bed 
in  the  small  inclosure  that  surrounds  her  mother's  lonely 
grave.  Together  they  rest  in"  hope,  under  the  hope  tree 
(Hopia),  which  stands  at  the  head  of  the  graves;  and  to- 
gether, I  trust,  their  spirits  are  rejoicing,  after  a  short  sep- 
ation   of   precisely  six  months. 

Thus  I  am  left  alone  in  the  wide  world.  My  father's 
family  and  all  my  relatives  have  been,  for  many  years,  sep- 
arated from  me  by  seas  that  I  shall  never  repass.  They  are 
the  same  to  me  as  if  buried.  My  own  dear  family  I  have 
actually  buried;  one  in  Rangoon  and  two  in  Amherst.  What 
remains  for  me  but  to  hold  myself  in  readiness  to  follow 
the  dear  departed  ? 

Rev.  George  D.  Boardman,  who  had  then  just 
arrived  from  America  to  enter  on  his  short  but  dis- 
tinguished career  as  a  missionary,  was  present  at 
this  event,  and  with  his  own  hands  made  a  cofiin,  and 
also  made  the  preparations  for  the  funeral.  The  re- 
mains were  mournfully,  tenderly  borne  away  to  the 
sheltering  Hopia,  which  could  be  seen  from  the  room 
in  which  the  mother  breathed  her  last ;  and  after  their 
return  from  the  grave,  Mr.  Boardman  and  Mr.  Judson 
had  a  delightful  conversation  on  the  divine  goodness, 


A    MEMORIAL.  225 

during  which   the   latter  "seemed   carried  above  his 
grief." 

Mrs.  Boardman  wrote  a  pathetic  poem  on  the  death 
of  Maria,  in  which  occur  the  following  lines: 

Ah!    this  is  Death,  my  innocent;    'tis  he 

Whose  chilling  hand  has  touched  thy  tender  frame. 

And  would'st  thou  seek  thy  mother  in  the  grave? 

(For  'tis  the  grave  I  speak  of) — there  is  rest — 

And  thou  art  weary,  love,  and  need'st  repose. 

Though  short  thy  life,  full  many  a  day  of  pain, 

And  night  of  restlessness,  has  been  thy  lot. 

Born  in  a  heathen  land — far,  far  remov'd 

From  all  thy  parents  loved  in  former  years — 

When  thou  first  saw'st  the  light,  these  were  not  there 

To  kneel  beside  thy  mother,  and  implore 

Blessings  upon  thy  little  head,  and  sing 

The  song  of  gratitude,  and  joy,  and  praise. 

Strangers  were  there;   strangers  to  truth  and  peace; 

Strangers  to  feeling;    strangers  to  her  God. 

Thy  father  came  not  then  to  kiss  his  babe. 

And  glad'n  the  heart  of  her  who  gave  thee  birth. 

«-  «-  »«--»*  «-  *-  * 

But  all  is  over  now.     She  sweetly  sleeps 
In  yonder  new-made  grave;   and  thou,  sweet  babe, 
Shalt  soon  be  softly  pillowed  on  her  breast. 


226  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 


XVII. 

**  One  soweth  and  another  reapeth." 

There  lies  no  desert  in  the  land  of  life, 
For  e'en  that  tract  that  barrenest  doth  seem, 
Labor'd  of  thee  in  faith  and  hope,  shall  teem 
With  heavenly  harvests  and  rich  gatherings  rife. 

Frances  Kembi^e  Buti^er. 

HAVING  reached  the  prescribed  limits  of  this  biog- 
raphy, the  author  asks  the  reader  to  decide 
whether,  in  his  judgment,  the  criticisms  mentioned  in 
the  first  chapter  are  deserving  of  his  approvaL  In  a 
rational  view  of  human  relations,  and  of  the  law  ef 
charity,  can  it  be  said  that  a  missionary  life  in  any  part 
of  the  world  is  a  sacrifice  to  a  false  idea  or  to  an  un- 
necessary service  ?  With  a  full  conception  of  the  su- 
preme value  of  elevated  characfter,  can  it  be  maintained 
that  such  charadler,  when  cast  as  leaven  among  the 
degraded  masses  of  earth,  is  not  devoted  to  its  highest 
uses  ?  And,  notwithstanding  the  expensiveness  of  in- 
telledlual  acquirements,  will  it  be  assumed  that  their 
devotement  to  such  portions  of  the  human  race  as 
more  especially  need  their  uplifting  power,  is  a  waste 
of  precious  ointment? 

It   is   scarcely  just    to   require   immediate,  visible 
results  as  a  proof  of  usefulness ;  and  it  is  not  essential 


A    MEMORI\L.  227 

to  the  support  of  faith  that  a  laborer  for  God  should 
gather  sheaves  from  his  own  sowing.  This  remark  is 
the  more  forcible  as  touching  pioneer  work ;  and  all 
missionary  labor  is  pioneering  in  its  nature.  The  Jud- 
sons  and  their  co-laborers  did  the  preparatory  work. 
They  opened  parts  of  heathendom  to  the  Gospel  of 
Christ,  and  prepared  much  of  the  means  for  its  full 
introdu<5lion ;  and  this  was  enough  for  one  generation 
of  workers,  entitling  them  to  the  praises  of  earth  and 
the  benedi(5lion  of  Heaven. 

When  Mrs.  Judson  went  to  rest,  the  work  in  Bur- 
mah  seemed  as  yet  unorganized.     Over  fourteen  years 
had  passed  since  the  first  missionaries,  herself  one  of 
the  number,  left  their  native  shore  to  undertake  its 
inauguration,  and  a  few  scattered  converts  alone  repre- 
sented its  visible  fruits.     And  yet  influences  had  been 
started  which  were    manifestly  approved   of  God,  and 
which,  therefore,  were  in  His  keeping  and  under  His 
guidance.     Mrs.  Judson  left  her  work  as  hopefully  as 
she  began  it.     The  little   bamboo  school  houses  she 
built  at  Amherst,  just  before   her  death,  proved  that 
she  possessed  a  faith  that  would  not  shrink,  though 
pressed  by  every  foe.     The  impress  of  her  faith  con- 
tinued with   the   native    Christians,  and   if   they  ever 
thought  of  surrendering  the  work  the  evidence  has  not 
appeared.     In  the  darkest  hours  they  have  thought  of 
nothing  but  procedure.     Whenever  the  teachers  have 
embarked  for  their  native  land,  in  broken  health,  they 
have  remained  faithful,  ever  straining  their  eyes  sea- 
ward in  expectation  and  longing  for  their  return. 

Mrs.   Judson's    intellectual    ability   had    but   little 
opportunity  for  improvement,  amid  her  hardships,  yet 


228  ANN    H.    JIJDSON. 

her  successes  in  circumstances  under  which  refined 
women  had  never  been  tested,  proved  the  existence 
of  talents  of  a  superior  order.  Her  literary  work  was 
excellent,  and  it  might  have  been  greatly  increased 
had  there  been  less  occasion  for  the  development  of 
the  heroic  elements  of  her  nature.  While  at  Rangoon, 
carrying  on  her  studies,  she  prepared  a  catechism 
which  has  been  found  serviceable  to  this  da}^  Mrs. 
Ingalls  says  that  "it  is  taught  to  ever}^  child  in  the 
Burman  mission  schools."  And  Rev.  F.  S.  Dobbins, 
a  specialist  in  mission-field  knowledge,  says  that  "  Mrs. 
Ann  H.  Judson  was  the  first  to  make  any  effort  for 
the  christianizing  of  the  Siamese;  her  first  attempt 
was  in  translating  a  catechism,  which  Mr.  Judson  had 
prepared,  into  the  Siamese,  in  1818."  It  was  the  finst 
Christian  book  printed  in  that  language.  From  this 
primary  but  effective  impulse  the  work  has  proceeded 
there  for  more  than  sixty  years,  and  the  results  are 
on  record,  both  in  earth  and  in  heaven. 

More  than  sixty  years  have  passed  away  since  Mrs. 
Judson  left  her  work  for  her  everlasting  rest.  She 
seems  to  have  been  one  of  the  number  called  to  fill  up 
that  which  is  behind  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ ;  and, 
consequently,  the  work  she  began  has  amplified  in  the 
hands  of  those  following  her,  and  the  fruits  have 
continued  to  appear  year  by  year,  and  with  large  an- 
nual increase.  To  a  recent  date,  here  and  there  an 
aged  saint  was  found  by  the  Irrawaddy  or  the 
Salwen  who  would  testify  with  beaming  face  to  the 
white  mamma  who  once  appeared  in  that  region  of 
cruelty,  and  taught  the  religion  of  peace  and  love. 
Mrs.  Ingalls,  in  a  traa  entitled  "  A  Golden  Sheaf  from 


A   MEMORIAL.  229 

the  Judsons'  work  at  Ava,"  gives  the  beautiful  story 
of  Mah-Po,  the  "  TaHng  maiden,"  who  was  aUve  at  the 
time  the  tracft  was  produced,  a  few  years  ago.  She 
and  others  mentioned  therein  compose  the  "  golden 
sheaf,"  late-ripe  for  the  heavenly  garner,  which  was 
provided  for  in  teachings  amid  the  scenes  of  the  death- 
prison.  One  voices  the  feeling  of  all:  " Those  words 
were  not  wasted  upon  us,  for  we  lost  confidence  in  the 
idols ;  our  hearts  never  revered  them  as  gods,  and  it 
was  only  fear  of  the  rulers  which  ever  made  us  go  to 
the  temples.  We  had  a  secret  feeling  that  this  was 
the  true  way,  and  now  we  are  full  of  joy." 
Mrs.  Ingalls  further  says  : 

"  Years  ago  we  read  in  Mrs.  Judson's  letters  of  their  suffer- 
ings in  Ava ;  and,  while  we  were  thankful  for  the  records,  we 
have  longed  to  lift  the  veil  from  the  past  and  know  more  of 
her  own  friendless  life  there.  It  has  been  my  fortune  to  find 
a  leaf  telling  of  the  past ;  and,  as  a  few  more  years  will  oblit- 
erate these  records,  I  have  told  you  of  one  who  braved  the 
displeasure  of  the  Golden-faced,  and  carried  food  to  our  Ann 
H.  Judson.  You  may  not  take  her  by  the  hand,  but  you  may 
look  upon  her  piAure  (given  in  the  trad) ;  and  perhaps  you 
will  pray  that  she,  too,  may  have  friends  in  her  time  of  need." 

The  modest  tribute  of  this  excellent  missionar>^ 
one  of  those  favored  with  the  privilege  of  entering  into 
the  labors  of  Mrs.  Judson,  in  the  Burmese  Department, 
serves  to  verify  the  prophetic  words  of  Prof  Knowles,' 
spoken  some  sixty  years  ago,  when  all  the  converts  iii 
heathendom,  taken  together,  were  a  httle  flock.  He 
says,  in  closing  his  Memoir :  ''  Her  name  will  be  re- 
membered in  the  churches  of  Burmah,  in  future  times, 
when  the  pagodas  of  Gaudama  shall  have  fallen ;  when 
the  spires  of  Christian  temples  shall  gleam  along  the 


230  ANN    H.   JUDSON. 

waters  of  the  Irrawaddy  and  the  Salwen ;  and  when 
the  '  golden  city '  shall  have  lifted  up  her  gates  to  let 
the  King  of  Glory  in." 

Add  to  this  the  firm,  rational  predidlion  of  Mr. 
Judson,  and  consider  its  rapidly  progressive  fulfillment, 
and  there  is  at  hand  a  triumphant  verdi(5l  on  the  sacri- 
fice that  Mrs.  Judson  and  others  made,  which  puts  to 
silence  the  cavils  of  unbelieving  and  faint-hearted 
men:  ''About  one  or  two  hundred  years  hence,  the  re- 
ligion of  Boodh,  of  Brahma,  of  Mahomet,  and  of  Rome, 
together  with  all  other  false  religions,  will  disappear 
and  be  lost,  and  the  religion  of  Christ  will  pervade  the 
whole  worlds 

Rest!     Rest! — the  Hopia  tree  is  green, 
And  proudly  waves  its  leafy  screen 

Thy  lowly  bed  above; 
And  by  thy  side,  no  more  to  weep, 
Thine  infant  shares  the  gentle  sleep. 

Thy  youngest  bud  of  love. 

How  oft  its  feeble  waiUng  cry 
Detain'd  unseal'd  thy  watchful  eye. 

And  pained  that  parting  hour, 
When  pallid  death,  with  stealthy  tread, 
Descried  thee  on  thy  fever-bed, 

And  proved  his  fatal  power. 

Ah!    do  I  see  with  faded  charm. 
Thy  head  reclining  on  thine  arm. 

The  Teacher  far  away? 
But  now,  thy  mission-labors  o'er, 
Rest,  weary  clay,  to  wake  no  more. 

Till  the  Great  Rising-day. 

Mrs.  Iv.  H.  Sigournky. 


^;g^=^ 


